With or Without You
by LEJ418
Summary: In attempts to rid herself of the sire bond on her own terms, Elena takes off on an adventure with Katherine which could doom or save them all. AU after episode 4.8. Damon/Elena. Elements from the Buffy/Angel universe but heavily Vampire Diaries.
1. Chapter 1

**This story is canon up through until the last scene of Episode 4.8, "We'll Always Have Bourbon Street," and is completely AU from there. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own this material and my astronomical student loan payments are further proof I'm not making a cent from it. **

**Chapter 1 **

It's late afternoon. Elena is moving about the Salvatore house, cleaning up the mess from the night before. As she picks up the champagne glasses she contemplates her fight with Caroline. They might have made up on the surface but deep down she wonders if their friendship can ever really recover from this, from Damon. There is so much ugliness stretching between the two of them, more than she thinks is in Caroline's capacity to forgive. Sighing, she wonders why everything involving Damon has to be complicated. Why they can't just…be.

She stiffens as the front door opens and closes; she can hear a pair of quiet footsteps pad towards her. She can't see him but she knows it is Damon who hovers in the doorway, watching her. She lets him stay that way for a moment, pretending she doesn't notice. Just basking in the feeling of knowing he is there.

"Hey," she finally says after a moment.

A smile twinges at his lips. "Hey back."

"How was your night?" She asks, finally turning to face him. She knows the moment she looks at his face that he has no good news for her. He looks defeated. Exhausted.

"Awful." He replies. He looks at her like he is trying to drink her in. As if he isn't expecting she will be there for long. "Yours?"

"Same."

He moves towards her like he is gearing himself up to say something awful. "Elena…um. We need to talk."

"I know that I'm sired to you Damon," she interrupts. Damon raises his eyebrows but she continues, determined to say her piece. "Caroline told me. That's what you and Stefan were doing, isn't it? Is there a way to break it?"

"Not exactly. Which is why we need to talk."

"Tyler told me the bond doesn't affect the way I feel just the way I act." Elena insists. "My feelings for you haven't changed. Damon nothing has changed." She utters it as if by saying it with conviction she can make it the truth.

"Everything has changed Elena." Damon moves towards her, his eyes are insistent, forceful.

"Okay fine yeah I mean I've changed," She admits quickly, shrugging off the fact that the bond is obviously affecting her. "So have you, Damon, and I'm happy just like you were yesterday morning before we knew any of this."

"You know what would make me happy?" He raises his voice slightly in frustration, "is to know that this entire time that I've been completely in love with you that what you actually felt for me was real." He takes a deep breath, as if realizing he has mis-directed his anger.

"It is real Damon," Elena insists. "I know that it is. Damon I know what you're about to do please don't do this to me," she begs moving closer to him. He only backs away from her.

"I don't want to do this Elena. I'm not the good guy, remember? I'm the selfish one. I take what I want. I do what I want. I lie to my brother. I fall in love with his girl. I don't do the right thing." His voice softens, "But I have to do the right thing by you."

Elena makes another move towards him, grabbing his hand and holding it to her heart. "Does this feel wrong?" She asks, moving her other hand to his cheek, "does this feel wrong?"

He leans his hand into her cheek. "I have to do this Elena. It's what is right for you…and for Stefan."

"Damon please." She pleads. "Don't do this."

Damon grasps her chin and tilts her head towards his. "I love you Elena. But I'm setting you free. This is what I want. This is what will make me happy. You're going to trade places with Stefan okay? You can stay at Caroline's and Stefan will come home. " Elena takes a breath, waiting to see if she feels any different. She doesn't feel anything strange, anything different about herself. She still feels as drawn to him as she is to the blood.

"I don't feel any different." She confesses.

"I don't think it works like that Elena. We're still bonded. I've just…set you free. If this is going to work we're going to have to stay away from each other."

"I don't want this Damon," she says, her eyes are watering. "I really don't want this."

He reaches for one of her hands. "It's not forever okay? Just until…until we find the cure." He squeezes her hand gently and lets it drop. "You should go."

Elena wipes her eyes. "Fine." She states with resolve. She brushes past him and walks out the door. Damon lingers in the room, listening as she packs her things and walks out the front door quietly.

Elena puts her things in the car and turns the key but as she turns the wheel and heads out of the Salvatore driveway she knows she can't go straight to Caroline's. Her head is throbbing, her eyes are stinging, and deep in her belly she can feel grief, her constant companion, beginning to clench around her heart. She isn't sure where she is driving until she pulls off the road and finds herself facing the ruins of what was once the Salvatore plantation. She stares at it for a moment as the sobs begin to work their way out of her throat. She wants to go home. She wants to sleep in her own bed and wake up in the morning to Jeremy's god awful music. She wants her mother to fuss over her breakfast and her father to complain about her cheerleading outfit. She wants her brother to be a normal pain in the ass, not trying to kill her. For Caroline and Bonnie to not look at her as if she's a ticking time bomb. And most of all she wants this constant thirst to go away. She cries and cries and cries because she has never felt so alone in her life.

As dusk begins to fall she finally looks up from where she is bent over the steering wheel. Night has fallen, the moon casts an eerie glow over the ruins of the plantation. Looking at the rubble of what has long been lost Elena remembers the first time Stefan ever brought her here, how she stood in this very place filled with such a human sense of awe. It is funny, coming back her now. Now that she is different. Now that he is different. What she wonders now is what he thought on that day. Whether he felt the same grief looking at what was once his home, thinking about what was lost. But the time for asking such things is long past. Elena shrugs her shoulders, fixes her make-up, and puts her car into reverse. There are no answers here.

"Are you okay?" Caroline asks as soon as she throws open the door. "I've been so worried. Damon said you left hours ago!"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean for you to worry. You talked to Damon?"

Caroline nods and moves aside so Elena can come into the house. "He wanted me to make sure you were okay. He said he'd released you from the sire bond and you were pretty cut up about it. Are you alright?"

Elena shakes her head. "I don't want to talk about it."

Caroline smiles grimly, trying to put on her good attitude pep squad face. "That's okay. I've planned a whole evening of distraction. I've got movies and popcorn. And there's some blood bags in the fridge. Oh and I found those sour Skiddles you like!"

"Caroline I really…I just want to go to sleep."

Caroline's eyes are filled with pity. "Okay. Why don't you change clothes and I'll grab the blankets and stuff for you okay?"

Elena quickly puts on her pajamas and brushes her teeth. Caroline has spread more blankets on the couch than any one person could possibly need, as if she is trying to compensate in any way she can manage. She sits perched on the edge of her chair as if waiting to pounce on any problem that dares present itself.

"Do you need anything else?" She asks as if she is a small child.

"No thank you Caroline. I really just want to go to sleep." Elena says, crawling under the blankets.

Caroline hovers for a moment as if she wants to say something. "Ok, good night then," she finally says, flicking off the light and treading down the hall to her bedroom. Elena collapses onto the pillow with relief but finds it only momentarily; Stefan's scent lingers on it from the night before like a punch in the gut tugging at her conscience. She stares at it for a moment and throws it on the floor, cradling her head in her hands instead.

The following morning, Elena is haphazardly walking through the town square, trying to immerse herself in something other than her problems. Around her children are playing in the snow, enjoying their Saturday afternoon and going about their day with no inkling of the danger that lurks about them daily. An errant snowball leaves the hands of a small child, narrowly missing her. Jumping to the side, Elena's attention is drawn briefly across the street. A girl, dark haired, in a red jacket, leans casually against the wall. She lingers for a moment, making sure Elena sees her and ducks into the burned out building that caught fire two years ago, nearly taking Damon with it. Elena glances quickly from side to side, making sure no one else notices, and starts to cross the street. With all her senses on alert Elena slips into the building and closes the door behind her, her eyes flicking from one corner to the other. It takes her seconds to spot Katherine leaning casually against the wall. In moments she has her up against the wall, her arm against her throat, fangs out and snarling.

"So it's true then?" Katherine says laughing. She twists and in mere seconds she has freed herself from Elena and thrown her up against the opposite wall, her arm buried in her larynx, cutting off her air supply. "Did you really think you could take me? I have five hundred years on you." She lets Elena go, gasping.

"What are you doing here?" Elena rasps, bent over and gasping for air.

"Is that any way to greet your doppelganger? Manners, Elena." She brushes some non-existent dirt from her coat. "I heard a rumor you'd been turned. I had to see it for myself."

"Klaus is still here. You really risked that much just to see if I'd been turned?" Elena asks, incredulous.

Katherine shrugs. "Maybe there is more to it."

"I'm listening."

"Well I'm not going to tell _you_. What do you take me for? I need to talk to Stefan."

"So talk to him," Elena's eyes flash. "He's at the Grill right now. And he's drunk. So he may or may not kill you in public."

"Trouble in paradise?" Katherine asks, her head cocked maniacally.

"Actually, we broke up." Elena responds, ducking her head. "He's all yours. Go for it. Good luck."

"He couldn't love you this way could he?" Katherine taunts, her voice honeyed. "Now that you're like me, all he sees when he looks at you is me, isn't it?"

"What exactly do you want Katherine?" Elena spits out. "I have things to do."

"I'm sure you do. This will only take a few minutes." Before Elena can so much as blink Katherine has grabbed her, snapping her neck like a twig. Katherine pulls Elena's jacket off her and dons it quickly. She lowers Elena to the floor and darts out the door.

It's lunchtime and the Grill is packed. Perfect, it will be harder for people to overhear them. For once her plan is going ahead of schedule. She hadn't expected them to already be broken up, for it to be this easy to get to Stefan alone.

He's sitting at a table by himself, a glass half full of Scotch in front of him. She scans the room looking for anyone who might be a threat. Elena's friend Matt is bussing tables towards the back but she doesn't see anyone else she recognizes. No Jeremy or Damon and definitely no Klaus. She makes her way towards him and plops down at the seat across from him.

"What do you want Elena?" He spits out.

"Try again." Katherine says, pulling the bottle towards herself. "So sorry to interrupt what I am sure is a quality pity party but I have a proposition for you."

"Katherine." He states, sighting heavily.

"Just be quiet and act like I'm her ok?"

"Fine," he says, crossing his arms. "I stand by my original statement. What do you want?" He sits back in his seat, regarding her with a sense of irritation.

"I'm offering you a way out of here. I have a plan but I need some company. Interested?"

"And you picked me? Gee, I'm flattered." He downs the rest of his drink. "Thanks but I've already served out my sentence as your minion." He sets down his glass and gets up. Katherine remains in her seat, the bottle of Scotch now dangling between two fingers.

"So you don't want to kill Klaus?" She teases.

"If we kill Klaus, we kill all of us." Stefan replies rudely, grabbing his coat.

"Maybe I know of a witch who can get around that," Katherine offers noncommittally.

Stefan pauses for a moment and sits back down. "Okay I'm listening."

"Do you remember a vampire called Spike?" She whispers.

Stefan props his elbows on the table, leaning towards her. "What on earth do you want with Spike?"

"I hear he's associated with a witch. A witch so powerful she nearly brought on an apocalypse." Katherine leans back, knowing she has piqued his interest.

"And you think you can find the witch if you find Spike?" He whispers.

"Exactly."

Stefan leans back, laughing. "That's not a plan, Katherine, that's a wild goose chase."

"Call it what you want," she sighs. "I'm tired of running and watching you fail to kill Klaus over and over again. I suppose I should thank you for the fact you didn't manage it though."

Stefan reaches for the bottle and pours himself another drink. He knocks it back before he responds. "I don't know where Spike is Katherine. And if I did, I would not go all the way to California with you just to confirm that he doesn't know anything."

Katherine catches his drunken slip up instantly. "So he's in California?" She asks eagerly.

Stefan hesitates. "He was possibly…years ago."

"And?" She asks, propping her feet and stretching herself out over the rest of the bench seat.

"Look, all I know is that Lexie mentioned to me once that she heard he was going to the Hellmouth to take on the Slayer. That's all I've got."

"Idiot." Katherine grumbles. She reaches for the bottle and takes a swig, contemplating this.

"Yes. So he's probably dead."

"When was this?" She asks.

"I don't know. Late ninety's maybe?"

"Want to help me find him?" She asks flippantly.

Stefan leans forward unto his elbows. "Why would I travel all the way across the country on a dead end mission with you?" He says slowly. "Have you forgotten that I hate you?"

Katherine smirks, her eyes flickering with amusement. "You're so hot when you're drunk."

Stefan rolls his eyes. "And you always start flirting when you're getting desperate. Tell me when has that ever worked?"

Katherine ignores his question. "Think about it Stefan. There's nothing left for you here." She stands and reaches for Elena's coat and stands, pulling it on. She leans closer to Stefan, bringing her mouth close to his. "You know you miss me," she whispers against his mouth.

Stefan smiles against her lips, "Go to hell." He says and shoves her away from him. Katherine recovers quickly.

"One of these days you're going to realize how much you love me," she calls back as she walks away. Stefan just pours himself another drink.

Outside it is beginning to snow. Katherine heads back towards the building where she left Elena.

"Elena!" Caroline comes barreling towards her. "I've been looking everywhere for you. You snuck out before I could talk to you this morning."

Katherine changes her expression to the morose pout she associates with Elena. "Right I'm sorry. I had to talk to Stefan about…things."

"You told him about you and Damon?" Caroline asks, her eyes wide.

"Yes, yes I did," Katherine says evenly, hiding her excitement at this newfound information.

"I'm so sorry. Did he take it very badly?" Caroline asks, hiding her curiosity with a concerned expression. Katherine doesn't answer, knowing Caroline's proneness to revealing more information. "It's not his fault Elena," Caroline continues. "I mean this sire bond thing is throwing all of us. And I know you said Damon didn't take advantage of you and I totally believe you but you have to think about how this looks to Stefan."

"Yeah he wasn't very…" Katherine tries to answer but she is saved by Caroline's phone ringing.

"Ugh, I have to go deal with Tyler. _Hybrid issues_," she whispers. "We'll talk later okay?"

"Sure." Katherine says, she smiles widely at Caroline's retreating back and marches straight to the building.

Elena is sitting on the floor, just starting to recover.

"I have a proposition for you," Katherine exclaims. Elena rubs her neck and flexes it a few times, testing.

"Yeah I really want to help you after you broke my neck," she mutters.

"I had to see Stefan without Klaus getting suspicious." Katherine protests.

"You couldn't have just asked me? I could have told you that Klaus isn't even in town today. He went to Europe determined to get Caroline the 'right' kind of Christmas baubles for the event next week."

Katherine jumps right in. "Speaking of Caroline. I hear you're sire bonded to Damon."

Damn her big mouth, Elena thinks. "Word travels fast I guess," she snipes.

"I can help you break the sire bond," Katherine offers. "I just need a small favor from you."

"Damon and Stefan said it can't be broken," Elena says, still sitting on the floor. "Can I have my coat back please? That thing cost a fortune." Katherine shrugs it off and throws it at her, picking up her own off the floor.

"Who did Damon and Stefan ask, a witch?"

"Yeah I guess so." Elena responds, standing up and pulling her coat back on.

Katherine rolls her eyes. "Men are such linear thinkers. A witch can't break it. Only you can break it."

"What are you talking about?"

"It's not that different from the werewolf sire bond. They break it by turning. You can break yours too, you just have to through a different process, a more inward looking one."

"How do you know this?"

"I've been around a whole lot longer than Damon and Stefan have Elena. I've seen a thing or two. I'm willing to offer you a deal. You come with me to help me find someone and I will help you break the bond."

Elena begins to think this through. "How do I know this isn't a ploy to lure me somewhere and kill me?"

"Well for starters if I wanted to kill you I'd just do it now. But I'm not. Partially because I know if I do Damon and Stefan will finally bring themselves to kill me but mostly because you may be of some use to me."

"Doing what?"

"I need help finding a vampire. And while I would prefer the company of someone who knows what they're doing, you'll do."

"And in exchange you'll help me break the sire bond?"

"Yes."

"Why do you want this vampire?"

Katherine smirks. "Let's just say I need a favor."

Elena thinks for a moment. The proposition isn't entirely unwelcome given she doesn't currently have a home, her brother is trying to kill her, she can't see Damon and her friends think she's losing her mind. If Katherine could help her break the sire bond she and Damon could be together. She could prove her feelings once and for all. It wouldn't solve all her problems but it would certainly ameliorate a few of them. And she could get of Mystic Falls for awhile.

"I'm in." She says after a moment.

Katherine's eyes flash with excitement. "I need to get out of here before Klaus returns. Meet me in Washington Square Park in two days."

Elena nods in agreement.

"See you in two days," Katherine says, ducking out the door before Elena can say anything else.

Back at Caroline's Elena gathers her things together. She's decided to take an evening train from Richmond that arrives in New York early in the morning. She can't bear this town any more. She feels suffocated, constrained. The looks she gets from Caroline, from Bonnie, everyone, they're filled with pity. They assume she can't do anything for herself anymore, like she's some kind of slave to Damon's whims. And as for Jeremy, she convinces herself that removing herself from the equation is at least temporarily the best thing for him. Shrugging her bag over her shoulder she surveys the room one last time and walks out the door.

"Going somewhere?" Damon asks, leaning against her car. He is trying to appear nonchalant but he is obviously agitated.

"How did you—?" Elena asks, glancing from the front door to Damon and back again.

"Ran into Stefan," Damon responds, moving towards her. "He was pretty drunk but still had lots of interesting things to tell me. I pretty much put two and two together from there."

"What did he tell you?" Elena asks defensively.

"That Katherine was here." Damon takes her bag from her and opens the door to the passenger side. "Get in the car Elena."

Elena just regards the open door with her arms crossed. "Where are we going?"

"Elena. Get in the car." Damon says evenly, stepping close to her and holding her gaze. Elena meets his gaze for a moment, glaring, but she marches past him and climbs into the passenger seat. Damon throws her bag in the back and follows.

"Now what?" She asks as she buckles her seatbelt.

"Music?" Damon asks, switching on the radio as he pulls the car onto the main road.

"What did Stefan tell you?" Elena asks, ignoring him.

Damon pulls the car onto the highway, heading in the opposite direction from Richmond. "He said Katherine thinks she can find a vampire who knows a witch who can take down Klaus without killing us all."

Elena's eyes widen. "She didn't tell me that. But if there's a way to take down Klaus we have to try!"

"Oh c'mon Elena, she's lying." Damon says gesturing wildly, "She's always lying. She's a selfish manipulative little bitch who will say anything, do anything to get people to do what she wants. Case and point. She somehow got you to go along with this entire thing without even telling you about Klaus."

"I don't think she's lying Damon." Elena protests.

"You don't know her like I do."

"Well thank god for that right?"

Damon rolls his eyes. "You know as well as I do that there's more to this. And it's going to involve you getting hurt or killed or who knows what else."

"I can take care of myself Damon." Elena says, exasperatedly. "She told me she could help me break the sire bond."

Damon regards her, unsurprised. "Oh please. She made it up because she knew you'd be desperate enough to go along with her. Listen to me, Elena, if there is another way to break the sire bond I will find it. There is no reason for you to run off with Katherine of all people."

"Maybe this isn't something you can do for me. Maybe this is something I have to do for myself." Elena insists.

"If you go with Katherine all you're going to do for yourself is wind up dead." Damon says, hitting the steering wheel in frustration.

"Well at least I'll be doing something! I can't live like this anymore Damon!" Elena pleads.

"We're going to find you a cure, Elena." Damon says softly.

"No. This! This whole letting you and Stefan take care of everything. I have to learn how to take care of myself. I have to break this on my own. The same way Tyler broke his."

"Elena there's no way to do that. In case you hadn't noticed, you're not a werewolf."

"We don't know for sure there isn't a way. All you did was ask one witch. You don't even know for sure that there is a cure either. It's all legends and myths. But I won't ever know if I can break the sire bond if I just sit here in Mystic Falls waiting for my own brother to kill me. I can do this Damon. I know I can."

"Elena..." Damon sighs wearily.

Elena shifts in her seat, facing him. "Damon, either I go or you invoke the sire bond." She insists levelly. Damon flicks on his turn signal and pulls off to the side of the road.

"Don't do this Elena." He says, cutting the engine. He stares ahead at the headlights coming towards them on the other side of the road. They throw light across his face only to plunge it back into darkness seconds later.

Elena watches him for a moment in silence. "If you really loved me you'd believe in me enough to let me go," she says softly.

Damon finally turns towards her with the full intensity of his gaze. "And then you'd be dead. What happens then Elena?" He asks.

"Then at least I tried!"

"Yeah well I don't accept those odds." He says, moving to turning the car back on. Elena grabs the keys and yanks them out of the ignition before he can do it.

"What will you accept then?" She yells, frustrated. "You've made it abundantly clear we can't be together. What am I supposed to do? Wait around Mystic Falls for you to find the cure?"

"Yes exactly. We are going to find a way to make you human again Elena. And when that happens the less your life has been disrupted the better. You should finish high school, go to college."

"Yeah and maybe I can join the pep squad and help Rebekah plan dances and go to football games." She mutters sarcastically.

"You should have those things Elena. I know I didn't get that before but now that you're a vampire, I do. And if you go off with Katherine you're not to get to do any of it and you're going to regret that someday. And what about Jeremy? Are you just going to abandon him?"

"There's nothing I can do for Jeremy right now. He's a danger to me and frankly I'm a danger to him. It's just better for him if I'm not around." She twirls the keys absently in her hands.

"Is that what you really think Elena? That it would be better if you weren't around?" Damon asks, covering her hand with his and easing the keys into his own.

"Look around Damon, look at my life. Everything I touch now just falls apart.

My friends can't stand me anymore, I'm flunking chemistry, my brother is trying to kill me. And then of course there's you. Falling in love with you is the only thing in my life that makes any sense anymore and you and everyone else is ruining it with this stupid sire bond!"

"You're flunking chemistry?" He says flippantly.

"Damon!" She screams in frustration.

"Hey," he says quietly, bringing a hand up under her chin. "Did you mean it?" He asks, his voice just above a whisper.

"Mean what?"

He hesitates, as if he is afraid of what she might say. "That you're in love with me."

"Of course I mean it," she says tenderly. "And I am going to break this sire bond and prove it to you."

Damon holds her gaze for a moment longer and then breaks it off, moving his hand back to rest on the steering wheel. "Elena. I am going to tell you something." She opens her mouth to interrupt but he raises a hand in silence. "You are going to hear me out and when I'm done if you still want to go, I'll drive you to the train station myself."

"Are you serious?" She asks dubiously, wondering if he has some secret plan up his sleeve.

"I am. But you have to hear me out first. Deal?"

Elena nods eagerly. "Okay."

Damon takes a deep breath, as if gearing himself up for what he has to tell her. "Did Katherine tell you anything about the vampire she is looking for?" He asks.

"No she didn't tell me anything. Why?"

"Because I'm pretty sure she came just to ask Stefan where to find him. And this guy she's searching for is…he's not like any vampire you've ever seen before, Elena. Stefan knew him, I've heard stories about him. He makes Ripper Stefan, hell he makes Klaus look like Bambi."

"I thought Klaus was the meanest vampire there was?" Elena says skeptically.

"Well there are things you don't know. Things that…we've never told you. Mostly because I'm not really up on the details myself and Stefan is not one for talking about it. This vampire, Spike …he's a different kind of vampire."

Elena's brow furrows in confusion. "What do you mean a different kind of vampire?"

"Like I said, I'm not sure on the details but essentially he comes from a different bloodline."

"What so he was sired by one of the other Originals? So what?"

"Well not exactly. He's essentially a different breed. I don't know where they come from but they're not like us. They don't have their humanity when they're turned, it's not even an option. No guilt, no conscience, nothing. They live for the feed and nothing else. They torture, they rape, they kill, and they get nothing but pleasure from it. They're just…pure demons."

"How do you know all this?"

"Stefan used to run with him back in his ripper days. I think he had some role in the Monterey massacre. But mostly what I know is from stories."

"Oh."

"If you're going to do this Elena, you should know who you're getting into bed with because Katherine is just the tip of the iceberg."

"I'm a vampire now Damon."

"That is only going to protect you so far, Elena. He could still easily kill you if he felt like it."

"Or maybe he doesn't." She says optimistically, taking his arm. "Maybe he does point us towards the witch we need. Maybe we'll be rid of Klaus. I was willing to go just to break the sire bond but if there's a chance we can take down Klaus too…"

Damon shakes his head. "It's too dangerous Elena."

"So what? I'm in danger wherever I go. I always have been. Does it really matter if I'm danger here in Mystic Falls or somewhere else?"

"Here in Mystic Falls Stefan and I can protect you. We can't go with you Elena, we can't keep you safe if you leave." Damon's voice breaks with emotion.

"I know that. But I have to learn how to protect myself, Damon. Katherine's managed to survive this long she can't be too bad of a teacher. I can't rely on you two forever. And once Stefan finds out about us I'm pretty sure protecting me is going to be the last thing on his mind anyways."

"He's going to be hurt and angry but I don't believe that. And I don't think you do either."

"Will you tell him?" Elena asks, brushing a lock of hair out of her face.

"You're really going to go aren't you?" Damon says, resigned.

"The only way to keep me here is to force me not to. And you're going to have to invoke the sire bond to do that. This is bigger than I thought it was. It's about so much more than you and me. Getting rid of Klaus…it's about all of us."

Damon puts the keys into the ignition and starts the car. "I am so going to regret this." He says as he maneuvers the car onto the next exit and turns around, heading toward Richmond.

"Thank you. Damon, for trusting me." Elena says with a half smile. She can't think of a time that he has ever done this.

"Don't get yourself killed Elena. I'm dead serious. If you die, I am coming after you."

"Pun intended?"

Damon just narrows his eyes. "I'll tell Klaus that you left town for a few weeks to clear your head. He's distracted with the cure, he probably won't come looking for awhile but he will come looking and we both know if he wants to find you, he will."

"What if it takes longer than a few weeks?" she asks.

"Don't." Damon says curtly.

"How long do you think it'll be before he starts to get close to finding the cure?"

"Depends on Jeremy. And whether Stefan is willing to stall him."

Elena's eyes flash. "Don't stall him. Jeremy shouldn't even be involved in this at all. The sooner he's out of it, the better."

"You haven't got much time then. Once they get him deprogrammed to stop trying to kill us Klaus isn't going to stop at anything to get that map finished."

Damon pulls onto the exit for Richmond. "Are you sure about this Elena? Because I can just drive us back to Mystic Falls right now and we can pretend this never happened."

"Damon, I'm going."

He flicks on his turn signal glancing absently out the window as they wait for a light to change. "I hate this."

"I know you do." She says gently.

"I love that you want to try though. It's been so long since I've seen you want to try."

The light changes and he pulls into the train station. He cuts the engine and they sit for a moment.

"You'll call?" He finally asks, trying not to look at her. "You don't have to tell me where you are, just…let me know you're okay."

"Of course." She touches his arm. "Hey. Look me Damon. I'm coming back. I promise you. I am coming back." Damon finally meets her gaze.

"Be safe Elena. Please." He pleads.

Elena leans forward, resting her forehead against his. "I love you." She says, smiling. She brings her lips to his and then, a moment later, in a whirl of vampire speed, she is gone.

**A/N: This story is kind of an experiment, it came to me one day in one of those full, Technicolor bursts of inspiration. Since those so rarely happen, I decided to honor it. I've been watching The Vampire Diaries for awhile now and lately I've been starting to get a little bit fed up with Elena's behavior so this is my attempt to do something about it. While this is technically a Buffy crossover, it is mostly Vampire Diaries. There's just a few elements of Buffy thrown in. If anyone is interested in being a beta please let me know. I'm open to any comments/concerns/bursts of outrage if you feel to urge to leave them. Or not leave them. I refuse to pander. Either way, thanks for reading! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two **

It is with a sense of clarity that Elena steps off the train at Penn Station in New York City and finds herself caught up in the traffic of people moving outside. Lifting her head and gazing at the buildings breaking up her view of the sky, she feels invigorated. She can't remember the last time she strayed this far from Mystic Falls, much less without a Salvatore bodyguard.

Shouldering her bag she hails and cab and climbs in. "The Four Seasons," she tells the driver. As she looks out the window at the city moving around her, she indulges herself in a rare moment of enjoyment after all, she is young and beautiful and in New York City, as a vampire she can do anything, have anything, and be anyone that she wants. Determined to enjoy her Katherine free day, Elena compels herself a room and sets out to explore New York.

On Fifth Avenue she stops for a few new outfits, in Times Square she picks up some disposable cell phones to call Damon without being traced, and while exploring Greenwich Village she hits the jackpot, a blood drive at NYU.

That evening on her way back to the hotel, Elena strolls past a salon. A poster in the window advertises a cut and colour special. She pauses for a moment contemplating; a new look would be a nice change, less work, and it would make it harder to mistake her for Katherine. Shrugging, she opens the door and walks in. Two hours later, after intense debate with the stylist, she emerges with her hair several shades darker and cropped to her shoulders.

Katherine never gave her a time to meet so Elena spends the following morning at the Starbucks across the street from Washington Square Park, watching for her. Finally, around mid-morning, she spots her get out a cab and stroll over to the centre of the Square. Armed with a take away mug she filled with a blood bag, Elena follows her.

"You showed." Katherine comments as Elena takes a seat on the bench next to her. "I'm surprised."

Elena shrugs. "I want to break the sire bond, you want to kill Klaus. We have a mutually beneficial goal."

"I see Stefan has been busy blabbing," Katherine says, tilting her head up to soak up a bit of winter sunlight. "Who else knows I was in town?"

"Just Damon and I. And as long as I'm alive and okay, they won't tell Klaus." Elena threatens, sipping her drink casually.

Katherine laughs. "Wow. Did you come up with that threat all by yourself?" She says with mocking admiration.

Elena ignores her, "How do you break the sire bond, Katherine?" She questions, exasperated.

"What is Klaus up to, Elena?" Katherine counters.

Elena raises her eyebrows. "What makes you think I know I if he's up to something? You know as well as anybody that Damon and Stefan are perfectly happy to leave me in the dark."

"I don't know, I'm taking a gamble that you do. My deal still stands. I'll help you break the sire bond, you tell me what you know and help me kill Klaus." Elena observes her coolly for a moment. "C'mon Elena. You know I can't kill him by myself. If I'm going find the witch I need and bring her back to Mystic Falls, it's going to have to be a group effort. As much as I hate it, I'm going to need all of you on my side."

Elena holds out her hand. "If you tell me what I want know and help me break the sire bond, we have a deal. I'll even get Stefan and Damon on board."

Katherine shakes it. "What do you want to know?"

"Tyler Lockwood told me that a sire bond doesn't affect how you feel about a person. That you can be bonded and still hate them at the same time. Is that true?"

"Do you know why a sire bond happens Elena?" Katherine asks.

"Not really," Elena responds. "Tyler said the hybrids bond to Klaus because they're grateful they no longer have to turn. So they break it by turning over and over. Is there a vampire equivalent?"

"No, this may surprise you Elena but vampires and hybrids are different," she says slowly, as if Elena is a particularly stupid child. "When a vampire is turned," Katherine continues, "sometimes they find it very traumatic to cope with. And if they already have strong a bond or feelings for the vampire who turned them, they subconsciously cleave themselves to them. Thus creating the sire bond."

"So it doesn't affect how you feel about someone?" Elena asks hopefully, "I just sired bonded to Damon as a coping mechanism?"

Katherine shrugs, "You could call it that. I prefer karmic justice though. All your pathetic little human issues are now biting you in the ass. It's almost poetic in a way." She pauses for a moment, examining her nails.

"If you want my help, you're going to have to try not insulting me." Elena spits.

"You can call me a psychotic bitch all you want, it's the truth." Katherine says, disinterested. "You sire bonded to Damon because you had a whole slew of issues that you couldn't cope with once they got amplified. And if you want my help breaking it you're going to stop getting constantly offended and let me finish."

Elena narrows her eyes but doesn't say anything further.

Katherine continues. "The sire bond doesn't create feelings out of nothing. It doesn't really create anything out of nothing. Your vampire nature is amplifying whatever it was you felt before, or were before, it's not related to the sire bond, that's just being a vampire. All the sire bond means is that your subconscious is confusing Damon's desires with yours. If he tells you to do something or if he wants something, even if you didn't want that, your subconscious makes you think you do because you don't trust your own judgement anymore. It influences your actions in regards to him but whatever your feelings are for him, those are your own."

Elena sits leans back on the bench, processing this. "That explains a lot. Don't most vampires turn people because they have feelings for them though? Shouldn't that mean more it's more common?"

"They're not as rare as vampires think they are, although they are a lot rarer than they used to be."

"How do you know all this?"

"I've been around a long time Elena, I've seen more than one form, and more importantly, I've seen them break. In the middle ages, it was a sign of fealty for a vampire to bond with their sire, in fact a lot of them faked it to get more land or money or what have you. Some bonds are fairly weak, they can be broken with enough time and adjustment. Sometimes the vampires don't even realize they're bonded. But the stronger the relationship, the harder it is to break."

"But how do I do it?"

"I knew you as a human, you were obviously in denial about a lot facets of your personality and now that everything is amplified I'm betting you feel like a different person," Katherine says, rummaging through her purse and pulling out a compact. "You need to learn to trust your own judgement again and face all the things you've been in denial about. If you can manage that, your subconscious will stop cleaving itself to Damon."

"And you're going to help me with this how?"

"God you ask a lot of questions," she says, examining herself in the mirror. "I'm going to show you some things. Walk you through your _issues_." She cringes, snapping her compact shut. "Trust me. Spending time with you is the last thing I want to do but as much as I hate it, I need you. Come on." She says, getting up.

"Where are we going?" Elena asks.

"To see a witch. I'm going to show you something."

"I thought a witch couldn't help with the sire bond," Elena comments, confused.

"She can't. Well not without massive ritual sacrifice," she says flippantly. "But she can help me show you something."

She hails a cab and jumps into the front seat, Elena reluctantly climbs into the back.

"Sunset Park Brooklyn," Katherine compels the driver. "Has Damon taught you how to feed yet?" She asks Elena as he pulls into traffic.

"He's taught me snatch-eat-erase." Elena replies. "But I prefer to use blood bags if I can."

Katherine rolls her eyes. "I prefer snatch-eat-kill." she says, holding the drivers bleeding wrist out to Elena. The driver continues to drive with a blank expression his face.

Elena gapes at the dripping wrist in front of her. "I already ate." She says after a deep breath, holding up her now empty to go cup. "And please don't kill him."

Katherine shrugs and puts it to her own mouth instead. "You're a vampire Elena." She says after several moments of feeding. "This is what we do. You might have Damon whipped into some pious little not killing people frenzy but believe me, he will cave eventually and so will you. It's our nature."

"Don't you feel guilt Katherine?" She wonders aloud, "I know you haven't turned your humanity off, how do you do it?"

"After five hundred years it's easy. I've figured out how to accept what pleases me and reject what doesn't." She flings the cab drivers wrist back at him. "Now tell me about Klaus."

Elena settles back in her seat, crossing her arms. "He's convinced there's a cure for vampirism and he's trying to find it."

Katherine leans back pondering this. "So he can turn you back and make more hybrids," she sighs. "He really does have a one track mind doesn't he? Let me guess, Damon and Stefan are fully on board with this."

"I tried to talk them out of it but Stefan thinks he can fix me and Damon..." she hesitates.

"Damon thinks he can save you from himself," Katherine finishes for her. "They are so predictable. Especially when it comes to you. Where do they think it is?"

"They're not sure. They have a vampire hunter, one of the Five, and he has to kill enough vampires to complete a map that will lead to a cure."

"How long do you think we have before he does?"

"I'm not really in the loop but Damon thinks a few weeks. They're trying to find a way to get him to kill vampires without you know, killing of us. Once they do it's anyone's guess."

"Knowing Klaus, we don't have much time. We have to find the vampire who can lead us to the witch before they find the cure." Katherine says, mostly to herself as she ponders this.

"Who is this vampire we're looking for?" Elena asks, "Damon said he was ruthless."

"That is his reputation." Katherine responds, gazing out the window.

"So you don't know him?"

"Not personally. He and Stefan go way back to 1917. They tore up Monterey together. From what I understand he's still in the area but Stefan said he was going after the Slayer so I don't know. He could be dead. If he is I don't know what we'll do."

"He went after the what?"

"The Slayer." Katherine clarifies as if this is obvious.

"I don't know what that is." Elena responds, confused.

Katherine turns around in her seat and faces her, her shocked expression revealing an usual amount of emotion. "You've been a vampire for what, four months? And in all that time, you're telling me that neither Damon and Stefan mentioned the Slayer."

"Um...no."

"God, no wonder you're useless. I can't believe they didn't tell you," she mutters to herself.

"Hey!" Elena exclaims.

"The Slayer is a girl who is called to hunt vampires." Katherine explains.

"Like one of the Five?"

"It's similar but the Slayer is always just one girl whereas the Five are always a group of men. It used to be that every generation there was one girl called up to fight the forces of evil, with supernatural strength and abilities to help her kill vampires. Sometimes idiots, like Spike apparently is, seek her out and try and take her on for bragging rights. I for one, keep my distance. But now that is getting harder because apparently someone undid the magic that bound the Slayer to one girl at a time and now there's more of them."

"Oh."

"Yeah, I'm betting the Salvatores don't know about that part yet. They've been out of the game since they met you. It's going to get all three of you killed if they don't pull their heads out of their asses."

Elena winces but continues with her line of questioning, "Damon said there were different kinds of vampires, that they were like a different breed?"

"Yes, they are. They're the ones that inspired all the legends about holy water and crucifixes and such. They don't have daylight rings either. I've met a few of them, trust me, they might be more ruthless, but we are much smarter."

"And this vampire will hopefully lead us to a witch who can help us?"

"Not just any witch. I have been hearing rumours that a witch exists who is so powerful she nearly brought on an apocalypse. Do you know how rare it is for a witch to channel that kind of power without killing herself?"

"Obviously," Elena retorts.

Katherine snorts, "Right, I forgot about your little Bennett witch."

The cab lurches to a halt in front of a small store front with dusty multi coloured crystals hanging in the window. Katherine glances at the driver.

"You're going to wait here until we're done and then you're going to drive us back. Understood?" The cab driver nods, blankly. Elena throws him an apologetic look as she and Katherine make their way into the store.

The door chimes as the girls enter the shop. The inside is filled with shelves and shelves of crystals and minerals. Elena wrinkles her nose at the reeking incense, waiting for an inevitable sneeze and then remembers she no longer as the capacity to do so.

"Katherine Pierce." A tall woman calls quietly from behind the counter. Her entire body seems to be draped in multi coloured scarves. "You're here to cash in on that favour aren't you?"

"I am. You're lucky it's a small one. I need you to do a memory transfer."

"Right now?" She asks, her eyes shifting from Elena to Katherine.

"Yes right now. Do you think I trekked all the way to Brooklyn for the fun of it?" Katherine snaps impatiently.

The woman sighs, "Come to the back room then and we'll get set up. Who is this?" She asks glancing at Elena, "You never mentioned you had a twin."

"She's a long story," Katherine replies tersely. "Let's get this over with."

The woman leads the way to a cramped back room that so covered in candles and draped fabric it is an inferno waiting to happen.

"If the two of you would have a seat please," the woman gestures to a small table with a few chairs at it. "Whose memory am I transferring?"

"You're starting with one of mine and then you're taking one of hers." Katherine explains, taking a seat.

"I'm sorry, what are we doing?" Elena asks, following suit.

"I told you. I need to show you something," Katherine says, annoyed. "You want to break the sire bond? You need to come to grips with all your issues. I'm going to show you something that might help you."

"A sire bond hmmm?" The witch says, scanning her bookshelf. "Those are tricky business. I didn't think you could break them."

"That's because you barely qualify as a witch," Katherine snaps.

"Katherine!" Elena exclaims, equal parts shocked and yet unsurprised by her rudeness.

"Shut up Elena." Katherine snipes. "I'm going to show you a few memories that might help you. And then you're going to show me what Klaus is doing. That way I know you're telling the truth and you know I am too."

The witch comes towards them with a book. "Alright. I'm going to need you to join hands. Elena, you need to try and clear your mind while Katherine brings up the memories she wants to show you. If it works, her memory is going to come up in your mind and you're going to see it through her eyes. Do you understand?"

"I do."

Elena and Katherine reluctantly join hands, a moment later the witch begins to chant. After a few seconds, Elena feels a blur, then a shift. She finds herself standing in a dark hallway, to her left is a door, a small crack of light seeping from under it. Beyond it, she can hear raised voices.

"Are you not aware people in town are beginning to talk? I have been lenient with you Damon but you have more than recovered from your injuries! It is time you returned to the war!" There is a thud of a fist hitting a table.

"What about my duties here father?" Damon's voice responds, slightly more quietly. Katherine remains at the edge of the hallway, listening.

"What duties? All I've seen you do this week is flirt with Miss Pierce and lark about with Stefan! I won't have you leading your brother down the same path as you Damon!"

"And what path is that?" Damon questions, obviously becoming angrier by the second.

"A cowardly one that allows other men to die in your place while you flirt and dance and play football. You should be ashamed of yourself. You're going to bring this family to ruin!" Giuseppe Salvatore shouts, his words are shaky, slightly slurred with either anger or drink.

"I should be ashamed of myself?" Damon responds in disbelief, "While I was off fighting in the war you left the running of this entire plantation in Stefan's hands while you drank your demons away! What path do you think you're leading him down?"

"Stefan knows his duty to this family and to the Confederacy." Mr. Salvatore replies curtly, lowering his voice slightly.

"You have berated me incessantly to fight in this war but I can't help but notice you haven't said a word to Stefan." Damon points out.

Giuseppe sputters, "He's too young," he finally says. "He's not ready."

"Please, he's old enough now and willing enough," Damon says evenly. "And we both know he's far more prepared to go to war then he is to run a plantation. Face it father, the only thing keeping him here is your insistence that he stay. Because even you aren't committed enough to the Confederacy to sacrifice your favourite son for it, are you?"

"How dare you speak to me that way!" He erupts. "Do you realize that you accuse me of treason, I who has supported the Cause from its very inception!" There is a crash and a shattering of glass. "When the time comes, I will proudly see Stefan off to fulfil his duty to his country! At least he wants to go! But you Damon, are nothing but a coward. I hope to god your poor mother can't see what you've become!" Katherine takes a step back into the shadows as Giuseppe Salvatore storms out of the room, slamming the door. Muttering to himself, he stumbles and into a room further down the hall. Katherine waits a moment and then slowly creeps into the room where Damon remains. Quietly, she opens it. Damon is standing with his back to the door, poking the fire absently, a smashed decanter at his feet.

"Damon?" Katherine says quietly.

Damon glances up and turns to face her. "Miss Katherine. I apologise, I didn't know you were here." He says, granting her a small bow.

Katherine moves closer and drops to a quick curtsey. "I came to see if you wanted to join us downstairs for a hand of cards but I'm afraid I interrupted something.

"I apologise if you overheard my father's rough words. I'm afraid he's rather angry with me." Damon's eyes flick to the broken glass on the floor.

"There is no need to apologise, Mr. Salvatore." Katherine says sweetly. "If I do say so myself, your father is the one who owes you an apology. He is quite unfair to you."

"You are too kind Miss Katherine." Damon responds.

"I speak only the truth." She says, laying a hand on his arm. "There is nothing cowardly about refusing to die for a cause you do not believe in. You are a far better man then people give you credit for."

Damon gives a half smile. "You are a rare woman indeed Miss Katherine. Both beautiful and charming." Katherine tilts her head, giving him a simpering smile.

"I've told you, you may call me Katherine."

He offers her his arm. "Come, then Katherine, perhaps you can charm me out of my mood, shall we join my brother for a hand of cards?"

There is a blur and Elena can tell the memory is several weeks later. She finds herself lying in bed, her forehead touching Damon's. He brushes a lock of her hair from her face, his eyes regard her tenderly but they have a sense of melancholy behind them.

"I don't want to go back," he says whispering. Katherine's hand comes up, stroking a scar that stretches all the way across his shoulder. "All those men dying for nothing. I know everyone thinks your kind are demons but compare to the things I have seen men do..." He sighs. "I don't want Stefan to have to go either. It's horrible Katherine."

"Shhhhh." Katherine says, placing a finger over his lips. "I will turn you soon and all of this will be over. You will never have to think of it again. We will do whatever we want, no war, no responsibilities, no rules."

"Nothing but us, forever." Damon says sleepily against her hand.

Katherine replaces her finger with her lips, as she kisses him, the room blurs Elena finds herself back in the store, blinking. Across from her, Katherine smirks.

"Why did you show me that?" Elena cries, reeling. "What does that have to do with the sire bond?"

"Think about it." Katherine retorts. "You'll figure it out. In the mean time I need you to show me what you know about Klaus."

Elena takes a few breaths, resisting the urge to attack her. She turns to the witch impatiently. "How do I do this?"

"You just need to focus on the memory you want to show her in as much detail as you can and I will do the rest."

Elena closes her eyes and thinks back to the morning Damon told her about the cure. She was sitting in her bed, he was sitting on the edge, holding her hand. She remembers the softness of the light, the feeling of his hand in hers, and the timbre of his voice.

The next thing she knows, she is back in her bedroom and Damon is speaking. "I am about to take a very high, annoying road," he says. She sits quietly as he continues to confess the full extent of what he and Stefan knew at the time. When he finishes, Elena feels the memory beginning to warp, she blinks her eyes open, meeting Katherine's identical ones.

"So your brother is one of the Five?" She states, "Your life really is pathetic, Elena. I almost feel sorry for you." She lets go of Elena's hand. "Almost."

Elena decides not to dignify her with a response. With a curt nod to the witch in thanks, she strolls out of the store, blank faced.

"Oh don't be like this Elena." Katherine calls after her. "I showed you what I did because I needed you to see it."

"Did it occur to you that Damon might not have wanted me to see that?"

"That was part of the point Elena. I'm trying to weaken the bond. " She holds open the door to the cab for her. "I never said this was going to be easy. It might even be painful. But if you're going to do have to learn to do this my way."

"I don't trust you." Elena says, getting into the cab, Katherine slides in next to her.

"Good. You're smarter than I thought you were. You should never trust anyone but yourself, Elena."

"That's a sad way to live." Elena comments.

"It's the only way to live if you want to keep yourself alive. Where are we going by the way?" Katherine asks.

"I'm at the Four Seasons." She replies.

Katherine smirks, "Well at least you have taste."

Back at the hotel, Elena immediately heads for the liquor cabinet, hoping to soothe her conflicting feelings. As she knocks back a shot of scotch she contemplates what she has witnessed. In the years she's known him, she's seen Damon at his very best and at his very worst but she has never seen him look so unguarded. Standing in front of that fireplace as Katherine walked in, he seemed so young, so far from the self assured man she has come to know. A part of her feels guilty that she was witness to such intimate moments, moments he would never want her to see but a small part of her is jealous too, that Katherine has seen a part of him she has only glimpsed. More than anything though, she wants to hear his voice.

She has her cell phone with her filled with text messages from her friends but she knows for their safety she can't answer any of them. Instead, she flicks on some music loud enough in case Katherine is trying to listen from her room across the hall and reaches for one of the prepaid disposable cell phones.

"Hello?" He picks up on the second ring, there is a sound of rustling behind him.

"Damon?" She asks.

"I'm here." He says soothingly, Elena leans back on the bed, feeling a sense of relief.

"I'm glad. It's nice to hear your voice. I miss you. I have...things to tell you."

"Are you alright?" He asks, his voice filled with concern. "Wait. How do I know you're you and not Katherine? Tell me something only you would know. What's your favourite book?"

Elena smiles, "Wuthering Heights. Which you hate and are convinced Emily Bronte wrote as a joke."

"She did. Nobody was that emo."

"I'm sorry, were you there? No."

"I was... alive." Damon retorts.

"I looked it up. You were seven and you were obviously on the other side of the Atlantic." Elena teases.

"Hey," Damon protests, "I remember 1847. That's the year Stefan was born...and something happened with Mexico... and it was hot and there was lots of...cotton... Anyways, how is everything?"

"I have something to tell you but you first, is Jeremy alright? Did you tell Stefan? What is the Klaus situation?"

"Calm down. Everyone is fine. Nobody's dead...yet."

"Damon..."

"Relax. Klaus is super pissed you took off but I think Caroline managed to talk him out of any immediate violent retribution. He thinks you've gotten fed up with Stefan and I and ran off to clear your head. You owe Caroline big time by the way."

"Yeah I know."

"No, not just for that. I told Stefan about us."

"Did he take it badly?" Elena asks, concerned.

"Well..." Damon hesitates, "the good news is, he hasn't massacred the entire town, mostly thanks to Caroline. But... bad news, he's not speaking to me and I haven't seen him sober in..." Damon hesitates trying to think. "...a really long time. And he keeps breaking my stuff. Basically he's turning into our father."

"Is he going to be okay?" Elena inquires anxiously.

"I don't know, Elena," Damon responds, frustrated. "I'm hoping it's just a temporary temper tantrum but it's not like there's a handbook for what to do to keep your brother from mass murder after you tell him you're sleeping with his ex. Speaking of psychotic brothers— I'm at the lake house with yours. Morticia and Uncle Fester are trying to brainwash him as we speak."

"He's alright?"

"He's fine, Elena. I promised you I would keep him safe."

"Thank you." She says, a relieved smile tugging at her lips.

"What is it you wanted to tell me?" Damon asks.

Elena hesitates, "Katherine showed me something today, it was...strange."

"What did she do?" Damon asks, suddenly accusatory.

"She took me to a witch and we did a memory transfer."

"A what?"

"Basically Katherine pulled up a couple of memories and the witch made it so I could see them."

"Oh. What were they?"

"They were of you. She showed me you before you turned...I've never seen you like that before. You were so...human."

Damon doesn't say anything for a moment. "What exactly did you see?" He says finally.

"She showed me...she was lurking in the hallway and your father was yelling at you about going back to the war. He was..." she hesitates searching for a word that isn't loaded but gives up, "...he was cruel," she says finally. She can hear Damon take a ragged breath.

"I wish you hadn't seen that," he exhales after a long pause.

"I feel like I've invaded your privacy, I'm sorry," Elena confesses.

"It's not your fault Elena, it's Katherine's." He spits angrily. "She's messing with you, trying to get into your head. Is that all she showed you?"

"No. She showed me the two of you in bed together."

"She did, what!" Damon responds. "Put her on the phone!"

"Damon, calm down it wasn't so bad, I mean, I saw it through her eyes so it was like I was lying in bed with you, just you know, in 1864. You were talking about the war. You had a scar on your shoulder; you don't have that anymore, do you?"

"No. It went away when I turned." He says quietly.

"Was it from the war? I didn't even know you'd been in it."

"Yes." He says curtly.

"What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it Elena."

"Damon, we need to talk about this," she pleads.

"Elena, we are not having this conversation over the phone. Or preferably at all."

"I admire you," Elena insists, "You were brave. You were trying to do the right thing, you were then and you are now."

"No Elena, I was weak. I begged her to turn me. I hated my life and my father and I thought it would be a way out. It was wrong of me. And then I spent the next century and a half trying to get the stupid bitch out of the tomb—"

"Wait!" Elena exclaims, realizing something.

"What?" Damon asks, unhappy about being interrupted from his favourite past time of insulting Katherine.

"Damon, is it possible you were sire bonded to Katherine?"

"What! What kind of roofied Kool-Aid does she have you drinking? Why would you think that?"

Elena ignores him, "What you just said, you spent a century and a half trying to get her out of the tomb."

"Elena, I am not sire bonded to Katherine." Damon insists.

"Not anymore." Elena says excitedly, "But what if you broke it on your own when you found out she wasn't in the tomb?"

Damon sighs. "Elena, put Katherine on the phone. _Now_."

"Hang on." Elena turns down the music and treads down the hall. Katherine is sitting in her suite watching tv and receiving a pedicure from a compelled nail specialist she nabbed from the hotel spa. "Damon wants to talk to you." Elena says, hitting a few buttons. "Damon, you're on speaker."

"What do you want?" Katherine asks.

"And a pleasure speaking to you too Miss Katherine," Damon responds caustically. "Please tell me what the hell is going on."

"I think Elena just figured it out."

"I am not _sire bonded_ to you." He insists.

"Well not anymore you aren't. Unfortunately. But I think you were. I mean when I turned you, I knew there was a risk of it. Why do you think I avoided you for a century and a half?"

"Gee, I don't know, out of self preservation?"

"We both know you'd have been very happy to see me. And judging by that kiss, you were."

"Only because I thought you were Elena."

"Who is basically me."

"I'm not even going to dignify that one with a response. We were never sire bonded. Like you would have turned down a willing lackey? Please."

"I thought about it. But you it was too dangerous to be seen with either of you. Think about it Damon. A sire bond forms because the new vampire has profoundly lost a sense of who they are and they have strong feelings for their sire. Elena sired to you because all of the things about herself she was in denial about became amplified and she couldn't cope. And you sired to me for similar reasons, you were lost, you couldn't handle who you were. You coped with it by spending the next century and a half obsessed with trying to get me out of that tomb."

"Great story Kath. Prove it."

"I can't prove we were sire bonded, Damon." She snipes. "That's not the point of this little exercise."

"What's the point then?"

"God you people are idiots. I was trying to show her that it can be broken. That you're not that different, you had vulnerabilities too and you still have them."

"I am not vulnerable."

"I am perfectly aware of Damon's vulnerabilities," Elena protests. "You didn't have to invade his privacy by showing me that!"

"I am not vulnerable!" Damon insists.

"Shut up Damon!" Katherine snaps. "You did too need to see it," she says to Elena. "You might know some of them. But these are the ones that run deep."

"Katherine, please stop talking." Damon begs.

"Hey, I'm just trying to help her break the sire bond here. And I'm doing it my way."

"Well, while you're doing it your way, let me remind you that if anything, and I mean anything happens to her while she is with you or near you or in any way ever. I don't care how long it takes to find you, I will hunt you down and I will rip you into tiny little pieces and I will kill you very slowly and painfully. And you won't even be able to enjoy whatever it is you think you're going to accomplish because you will be very, very dead. Do you understand?"

"Would you get over yourself?" Katherine complains, "Even if I wanted to kill her, she's seriously too boring to bother. It's no wonder she sire bonded to you, you've spent years forcing her to rely on you because you never tell her anything. Did you seriously think it was a good idea to send her out into the world without even knowing about the Slayer? No wonder she can't handle herself. You're lucky she's with me, on her own she'd be dead in two days."

"I'm standing right here!" Elena reminds her.

Katherine turns to her, "All I'm saying is I thought maybe you'd be slightly more interesting as a vampire. But all that got amplified was your boringness."

She flings picks up the phone and flings it at Elena who catches it and storms out with a lingering glare at Katherine.

"Sure you don't want to come home?" Damon asks. "I bet our homicidal brothers are looking pretty good to you about now."

"I'll pass." She says, shutting her bedroom door and turning her music back up.

"Are you sure? Stefan may or may not burn the house down later. Could be fun. I'm bringing marshmallows."

"Don't joke." She reprimands, flopping down on the bed.

"Oh c'mon Elena. At this point there's nothing to do but laugh about it. And lament the loss of all the furniture he's destroyed. He broke my TV."

"Damon!" Elena cries in frustration.

"Alright. I'm sorry. I can't speak for Stefan but for what's worth, I never told you about the Slayer because I honestly just forgot about it."

"That's not all there is though, there's a lot of things you guys haven't told me, aren't there? Like about your father or your childhood."

"It's not important."

"Katherine seems to think it is."

"Yeah well I trust her judgement about as far as I can throw it. And oh, would you look at that, I can't throw it at all."

"Look, we don't have to talk about it now, but someday will you tell me about your human life?"

"It's all really boring Elena," Damon says defensively.

"Not to me it's not."

Damon huffs. "Fine. Someday."

"Promise?" She says hopefully.

"I promise. Hey listen, I wanted to tell you. You don't have to tell me where you are but if you are where I think Stefan told you to go, there's someone you should look up who might be able to help you."

"Who?" Elena says excitedly, sitting up.

"Her name is Cordelia Chase. She's an old acquaintance of an old acquaintance. But I guess she used to run with this vampire who was on some sort of Stefan like road to redemption or something. She might be able to help you. She worked at this place called Angel Investigations."

"I'll see what I can find." Elena says, reaching for her laptop.

"I only met her once but I remembered it might be useful right after you left. Listen I should go. I told Bonnie I'd help them test out how well Jeremy is deprogrammed. If it works I'm going to stay out here with him and Matt and get them started killing vamps."

"Be careful. Please. And don't hurt him."

"We'll be fine. You're the one who is shacking up with the world's number one psychopath." Damon points out.

"Thank you Damon," she says lovingly.

"For what?"

"For everything. For telling Stefan and helping Jeremy and just being—"

"Hey, you just do what you've got to do and come home as soon as you can alright?" He says comforting.

A smile tugs at her lips, "I miss you. And I know it's not the sire bond."

"I know," he replies. "I miss you too."

** A/N: I'm still looking for a beta if anyone is interested. Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

_She leans against the tree, relishing the warmth of the fall sunshine on her face. Her billowing skirts are spread out around her, a nest of lace and silk. Damon rests his head in her lap, his eyes closed as she runs her fingers lightly through his hair. _

_"That feels good." He murmurs. She loves him like this, looking relaxed, content. It is so rare for him to be so peaceful. _

_A storm cloud is quickly approaching, Elena nudges him. "We should go, it's about to rain."_

_He grasps her hand. "No it's not." He says, not opening his eyes. "Let's stay right here." He plants a soft kiss on the pulse point of her wrist. _

_Elena tries to relax again but all the while she can see the storm approaching, Damon still lays in her lap, his eyes closed. She hates to disturb him. _

_Wide drops begin to fall, slowly at first, then more and more. Elena opens her mouth to say something but she realizes it is not water falling from the sky, but blood. _

_"Damon!" She shakes him urgently. _

_ His eyes snap open, looking right at her, "Katherine," he says, grinning. _

Elena awakes with a start, her heart racing. She blinks a few times against the dim airplane lighting. Katherine is leaned back in the seat next to her, a copy of Vogue in her lap, smirking.

"You bitch." Elena spews acidly.

"I was bored, you were asleep," Katherine says, nonchalantly flipping a page of her magazine.

Elena leans her forehead against the window, trying to take deep breaths and hide the fact her fangs have revealed themselves in her anger. "Stay out of my head," she growls.

Katherine snorts. "Make me."

Without turning around, Elena reaches for her magazine, tearing it out of her hands and ripping it in half.

"Really mature, Elena," Katherine complains.

"Well that's the worst I can do to you without having to compel an entire plane of people."

"Pity."

"What happened to you to make you such a raging bitch?" Elena wonders loudly, still with her forehead propped against the window.

"Give it a few hundred years and you'll be just like me."

"Rose was older than you, she wasn't," Elena points out.

Katherine yanks the remnants of her magazine out of Elena's hand. "Rose got what was coming to her."

"If that was what Rose had coming to her, I want front row tickets when you die," Elena snaps.

"Get in line," Katherine quips, trying to organize the pages into something readable.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are now descending into Los Angeles International, please make sure your tray tables are locked and your seats are in their full upright positions."

"Thank god," Katherine grumbles, "This much time in such close company with you makes me want to go on a killing spree."

"You're not the only one," Elena mutters under her breath.

After disembarking the plane, Katherine veers off to locate a car while Elena heads to the hospital to restock on blood bags. It doesn't take her long, so she sits on a bench outside, basking in the California sunlight and enjoying the few moments of Katherine free peace.

"Get in, I want to get to Sunnydale before tonight," Katherine commands, pulling up in a bright red BMW convertible.

Elena throws her bag in the back seat and climbs in. "I see we're going for inconspicuous," she remarks as Katherine lurches out of the parking lot.

"What can I say, I wanted a Porsche but I didn't have time to wait around for someone to compel," Katherine replies as she pulls erratically out of the parking lot, causing three people to slam on their breaks. Elena winces apologetically as the convertible accelerates past them.

"I've been thinking," she mentions, absently as Katherine turns onto the freeway. "And I think you might be right about Damon sire bonding to you."

"I'm always right," Katherine states, "Hold the wheel for me while I pull back my hair, would you?" She lets go without waiting for answer, Elena grabs the wheel just in time to keep the car from spinning into the next lane at eighty miles an hour.

"Must you?" She asks, Katherine doesn't bother to respond but takes back the wheel, her hair now piled on top of her head.

Hoping they make it to Sunnydale without injuring everyone else unfortunate enough to be on the road, Elena picks up the conversation where she left off, "Damon is never going to admit to it though. Not even if he has eternity."

Katherine pouts, "Given a few thousand years, I'm sure I could wear him down. It doesn't really matter though, the point was for you to see, not him."

"Why did his father hate him so much?" Elena asks hesitantly after a moment. She hates to broach the subject with Katherine of all people, but she wants answers.

"You picked up on that huh? What did Damon tell you?"

"Nothing. He was his usual evasive self when I asked," she huffs. "Somehow I think it would take another werewolf bite to really get anything out of him."

"Well you should always have a plan. Honestly though, I don't really know why. I don't think anyone does. But there's no denying it, Damon just never seemed to measure up to Stefan in his father's mind. The theory in town was that he took after his mother so much that Giuseppe couldn't stand it. She died when they were young, you know."

"Stefan told me. Childbirth right?"

"Yeah..." she trails off for a moment, "Poor woman. Married at fifteen, popped out kids until it killed her. I never met her but even I feel bad for her."

"Seriously?"

"I am capable of sympathy Elena, when I want to be. And if there was anyone who deserved some sympathy, it was her. Giuseppe Salvatore was not an easy man to live with."

"I got that impression."

"People in town used to gossip all the time. They said she was glad to die, just for the reprieve."

"That's harsh."

"Believe it or not Elena, some people are just rotten all the way through."

"I'm not defending him, especially not after what he did to Damon. I'm just saying everyone has something good in them. Even you."

Katherine chortles, "Don't try looking for any redeeming qualities in me, Elena. It's just insulting."

"That's funny. Isobel said something similar to me once."

"Yeah well she didn't have any either," Katherine says tartly.

"I think they were there," Elena protests, "I mean she felt so guilty she killed herself."

Katherine shakes her head, "What a waste. She was a hell of a lot of fun, even if she did betray me," she gives a half smirk, remembering something. "Damon certainly thought so too."

Elena blanches at the insinuation, "Pull over," she orders, "I need to vomit."

Katherine laughs but immediately swerves the car onto the side of the road and slams on the breaks when she realizes that Elena does in fact, look nauseous.

"I see I hit a sore spot." She remarks, as Elena opens the door of the car and puts her head between her legs. "I mean surely you knew about it."

"I did. Ages ago. But I'd forgotten." Elena says, taking deep breaths.

"It's not that big of a deal, Elena. It's before you ever met, you would have been a little kid at the time." Katherine comments off handily, "I mean it's not like Isobel raised you or anything, all she did was give birth to you," she grins maniacally, "I wonder if she still had the stretch marks..." Elena begins to heave up her last blood bag.

"Are you done?" Katherine grumbles after a moment, "I want to get to Sunnydale before nightfall, get a jump on all the other vampires."

Elena suddenly can't contain her rage anymore, she launches herself at Katherine, determined to cause harm in whatever way she can manage. She gets a few punches in before Katherine overpowers her, shoving her out the other side of the car.

"I'm older and stronger, and I always will be. Remember that." She says smirking as she pins her down, she gets up easily and strolls back to the car.

Elena props herself up on her elbow, wiping some blood from her mouth. She knows Damon is not a saint, she always has. And she for the most part can handle his history with Katherine, even with Caroline and Rebekah but the thinking about him and Isobel positively repulses her. Is this how he feels about her and Stefan she wonders? Or is the situation too different to make a comparison? Either way, it is not a conversation she wants to have with him. Ever.

"Still convinced I have a good side?" Katherine interrupts her thoughts.

Elena eyes her with loathing, "Ask me again when I'm not tempted to cut you to pieces and light you on fire."

"You know what your problem is, Elena?"

"No, but I'm sensing you're about to tell me." She retorts, easing herself up off the ground and back to the car.

"You trust too easily. You're always looking for someone's good side. You act like people are going to love you and offer to lay down their lives for you everywhere you go. I mean you hate me, you don't trust me, but deep down some part of you still doesn't want to believe I'd actually betray you."

Elena rolls her eyes. "I care too much. I get it. Spare me the lecture, would you? I'm tired and I've heard it before, you sound like Damon."

Katherine snorts, "Damon coddles you because he loves you and so did Stefan. Let me assure you, that was a luxury they never had. Giuseppe Salvatore was a terrible excuse for a man and he barely qualified as a father, but because of it, at least _they _learned how to survive."

"So I should be more like you then?" Elena questions, "Manipulating and double crossing people I claim to love? Feigning indifference in order to feel superior?"

"The last thing I want is for you to become me. You'd make me redundant," she says, pulling the car back onto the road.

"I've already made you redundant," Elena seethes.

"If you've made me redundant you'd be with them right now. Not with me. I'm not going to kill you Elena but let's get one thing straight, I am _not_ your bodyguard. You put yourself in danger, you're on your own."

"I wouldn't expect anything less from you Katherine."

"Good," Katherine says, "If you want to survive, you're going to have to find some hate and you're probably going to have to kill. You're a vampire, Elena, and they call it the Hellmouth for a reason."

Elena digs around her bag for her iPod, tired of Katherine's voice. She not sure if she should be grateful that Katherine hasn't left her on the side of the road or wishing she had. She is contemplating various new profanities to throw at her, when the car rounds a curve and Katherine slams on the breaks. In front of them, the road drops away into a giant crater that seems to stretch for several miles, a derelict "Welcome to Sunnydale" sign dangles precariously next to it.

The girls remain in the car for a moment, stunned.

"What. The. Hell." Katherine finally sputters. Elena takes the keys out of the ignition, not trusting Katherine won't drive off and leave her, and gets out of the car to look around. The crater is several miles deep, below she can see a variety of debris, pipes, and bits of wood.

"Giant sinkhole maybe?" She speculates. Katherine comes up next to her and peers over.

"On the Hellmouth? No. This was definitely supernatural."

"It looks like it's been this way for awhile, Katherine," Elena takes a step back from the edge and from Katherine, desperately wanting to push her in, but knowing she will only come to regret it.

She shocked to see Katherine actually looks disappointed as she peers down into the hole. "It could be. I haven't been here since 1993. Stefan said Spike was heading here later in the 90's."

"So he could be anywhere."

Katherine bites her lip. "Let's go back to LA," she glowers. "I know some people there. Maybe Caritas is still open," she speculates, "I need a drink."

Katherine sulks all the way back to LA while Elena drives. It is Friday night and downtown is packed with people streaming in and out of clubs, shouting, giggling, singing, flirting, tugging on their clothing. Elena puts the car into a parking garage and tries to focus her breaths, she's getting hungry and this many people in one place is still a struggle for her. Katherine leads her down several streets and up several alleyways, stopping finally at an abandoned building.

"It's still here," she says, relieved. "This is probably the best place in LA to get information. You're going to see a whole lot more than just vampires in here."

"What like werewolves?"

Katherine laughs, "There's a whole world more out there than just us Elena. I couldn't even name a fraction of all the kinds of demons that exist. Just don't attack anyone."

Elena eyes her, puzzled, "Excuse me?"

"There's a curse or a spell or something that physically keeps anyone from violence in there. It's meant to be like a sanctuary for demons." She holds the door open for Elena who follows, curious.

Katherine was not kidding about the demons, the place is packed with a variety of strange creatures, some with several heads, some with strange gills or discoloured skin who look they wandered off the set of a Star Wars movie.

Elena makes her way to the bar, wincing as a bright green demon on stage belts out a painful rendition of Lady Gaga's "Born This Way."

"What can I get you?" The bartender asks, he looks human but he has scales running up his arms. "Seabreeze, vodka tonic, toad heart, blood? Got a nice shipment in just the other day."

"Um, blood please?" Elena orders.

"Any particular kind?"

"Anything human." She stipulates.

The bartender hands Elena martin glass of blood with a pineapple garnish and a little umbrella in it. She feels a pang thinking about how much Caroline would love that.

Katherine surveys the crowd critically, a martini in her hand, trying to assess anyone who might be of value to them.

"Where do we start?" Elena asks, sipping the blood through the little straw. "Do you see anyone you know?"

"No. But until you showed up in Mystic Falls, I'd been in Europe for almost a decade. Anyone I knew is probably dead or moved on. Someone has to know something though. See if you can spot any other vampires."

Elena scans the room, seeing nothing resembling a human figure.

"You know what would be most useful?" Katherine states after a moment, "Is if you would sing."

"Why?" Elena, laughs, nearly spitting out her drink.

"There you go again, asking questions."

"Either I trust to thoroughly or I ask too many questions, you can't have it both ways Katherine," she complains.

Katherine turns to her, "I can have things any way I want them, Elena. It would help us because The Host is a demon who can tell people their futures. But they have to sing."

"Why don't you do it then?"

"I don't sing. I also don't have a sire bond to break." She gives Elena a little shove towards the front. "C'mon. You can't possibly be worse than that dude." She motions to the demon on stage who is grunting his way through "Oops I did it again."

Elena sighs and downs the rest of her drink. "Fine. But if this doesn't help me with the sire bond, I am stabbing you in your sleep."

Katherine sneers, "You are welcome to try."

Elena stumbles her way through the crowd up to the stage. "Do you think I could go next?" She asks the attendant managing the microphone.

"Sure thing. Don't see a whole lot of your kind 'round here anymore," he comments.

"What do you mean?"

"Humans just haven't come around much in the last few years."

"Oh, I'm not a human actually. I'm a vampire."

"You don't seem like one."

"Well I'm a little different."

The attendant shrugs, "Thought you lot were laying low."

Before Elena can ask any further, the performer ends his song on a particularly ear splitting note and the audience claps politely. Elena tells the attendant the song she wants and nervously takes the stage. She used to do this sometimes with Bonnie, who loved it, but at least then she had someone else with her. Now she is all alone on the stage in front of a crowd of strangers with fins and scales and multiple heads. It is like something straight out of a very strange dream.

The music comes up and she begins quietly "Come to me now, and lay your hands over me. Even if it's a lie, say it will be alright and I shall believe." At green demon with horns stops conversing with the bartender and turns around, watching her analytically.

"Open the door and show me your face tonight I know it's true no one heals me like you and you hold the key..." Elena sings with more conviction, it seems as if the entire bar has quieted, even Katherine is watching her intently rather than feigning her usual mask of indifferent. "Never again will I turn away from you. I'm so heavy tonight. But your love is alright. And I do believe that not everything is gonna be the way you think it ought to be..."

She raises her voice a bit "...it seems like every time I try to make it right it all comes down on me. Please say, honestly you won't give up on me and I shall believe." She finishes delicately with a final "I shall believe." She smiles at the roaring applause, takes a short bow, and steps off the stage.

The green demon with the horns is waiting for her as soon as she descends the steps.

"That was one of the saddest performances I've seen in a long, long time, Elena Gilbert," he tells her.

"Are you The Host?" she asks.

"Or Lorne, I prefer the term The Host," he lowers his voice, "Too many Lorne Greene jokes if you catch my drift."

Elena nods as if she understands this, "I was told you could help me? I'm looking for someone."

"I can do a whole lot more than that honey. I'm an empath demon, when you sing, I feel everything you feel, I can see your past, and your future . Why don't you have a seat, Elena." He says, gesturing to an empty table in front of them and motioning for a drink.

"So what are you going to tell me?" Elena asks. "Can you tell me where to find this vampire?"

He ignores her question, "It's interesting, you have a number of paths in front of you, but they all lead to the same place."

"And where is that?"

"Now what would the fun be in telling you that?"

"I hate to be rude. But you kind of sound like every other fortune teller I've ever been to."

"Do you know what your greatest fear is Elena?"

"Spiders?" She guesses.

He shakes his head. "Her." He says cocking his head towards Katherine who is chatting with a bright blue demon at the bar. "The thing you fear most, the thing you always have feared most, is that you will become her, isn't it?"

Elena remains silent, considering this. A cocktail waiter arrives with another martini glass of blood for Elena.

As soon as she leaves, Lorne continues, "Now that you're a vampire you've convinced yourself it's inevitable. You hate yourself for loving them both because you're afraid you'll destroy them like she did and you can't stand the thought of hurting them. It's tragic."

Elena plays with her straw nervously, "I already hurt Stefan," she confesses.

"But you didn't do it on purpose. And the fact you feel terrible about it is proof right there that just because you have fangs and prefer blood to brownies now doesn't mean everything about you has changed."

"It sure feels like it has," she says quietly.

"The girl who you think died on that bridge isn't who you think she was. She was capable of so much more than you ever gave yourself credit for."

"Too late now," Elena shrugs.

"It's not too late at all. It's all still there, I can see it when you sing," he leans closer, "You listen to me Elena, there's darkness in you for sure, but there's also a lot more light and a hell of a lot of hope in you. You are not ever going to be her Elena, being a vampire doesn't define you, your choices do."

"Did I make the right one?" She says softly.

"Do you think you did?" He questions.

"Yes," she replies with conviction.

"Then you did. But I warn you, what you're looking for comes at a high price."

"How high?"

"I can't tell you that. But stay in LA a few days, take a load off. I believe the answers will present themselves."

"I don't have a lot of time."

"I know. But The Powers That Be move slowly. In the meantime, look to the past, look to his past too. There's answers there to questions you've never thought to ask."

"Lorne, we need you for the piano solo," a demon says, brushing past.

Lorne rolls his eyes, "Lister demons...I have to go. Good luck Elena Gilbert." He smiles thoughtfully, "You have a good heart, don't forget that."

Elena sits at the table for awhile, contemplating.

"So?" Katherine asks, plopping into the seat Lorne vacated.

"He was cryptic but he said to stick around a few days and look to my past. How am I supposed to do that?"

"I don't know, do you have any traumatic childhood memories?"

"Not that I'm aware of. Are there any spells that can help recall stuff?"

"Probably. I think I know a witch around here somewhere, maybe you could go there."

"Did you find out anything?" Elena asks, stirring her blood absently with her straw.

"Not much," Katherine says, biting into her olive, "there was some kind of apocalypse brewing in Sunnydale and the Slayer avoided it by closing the Hellmouth. I'm assuming that is when they undid the magic that bound them to one girl at a time."

"And Spike?"

"Was definitely here after Sunnydale collapsed but no one has seen him in years."

"Bummer."

"Yeah, but at least he's probably alive, let's call it a night." Elena is more than pleased to head back to the hotel where she immediately locks herself in her room and enjoys the sheer lack of Katherine in it.

* * *

The following morning Katherine sets out to drum up some old acquaintances while Elena seeks out a witch she once knew.

"That's the thing about witches," Katherine tells her, "They tend to stick to the same spots. It's an energy thing. Even if they've moved on, I bet there's a different one there."

And sure enough, Elena finds a brightly coloured shop exactly where Katherine said it would be. Unlike the one in Brooklyn, this store is well lit, clean, and appears to sell a variety of books, herbs, and candles.

"What can I do for you?" A cheery man at the counter asks. His face darkens as he gets a good look at her. "Katherine Pierce," he says contemptuously.

Elena shakes her head, "I'm not her I swear. She just told me someone here might be able to help?"

"Katherine Pierce is no friend of mine, vampire."

"Trust me, she's not mine either."

He looks at her dubiously.

"I swear. Look, touch my hand, you'll see I'm not her, I'm not a threat to you. That's how it works right?"

The man takes one of her hands, he must have seen what he needed because he drops it. "What is it you need?"

"I want to see some repressed memories. Is there a spell that can bring those up?"

"There is. But I warn you, some memories bury themselves for a reason."

"I know. But I think I need to see them for a reason."

He leads her to the back room where there are several different coloured armchairs and a coffee table. He gestures for her to sit, and Elena perches herself on a soft red armchair and he sits down across from her. "I can do the magic but I warn you. This is not something to toy with."

"I understand."

"Come back in an hour then."

Elena shakes his hand. "Thank you."

He regards her grimly, "Wait to thank me until after." Elena spends the next hour wandering around a nearby park, contemplating. She isn't sure what will come up, nothing from her childhood strikes her as particularly awful. Recent events are more horrifying, but other than perhaps the night her parents died, she doesn't believe she has repressed them. When her hour is up, she walks back to the shop where the warlock lets her in and flips the sign on the window to closed.

The back room is now lit by the candles that are scattered all around it. On the coffee table, a variety of herbs are spread out, the furniture has been moved against the walls.

The man indicates where she should sit.

"It might be easier if you lie down," he hands her a couch cushion for her head. "What you need to do is relax and try to clear your mind. I will chant the incantation until I'm sure you're under and the memories that are important will return to you, starting with the earliest ones first. Depending on how many you have, it could take a few hours and you will eventually resurface on your own."

"Do people ever not resurface?"

"I have heard stories of humans with severe trauma who have not. Since you're a vampire, I do not anticipate that will happen but I hope you are ready for the emotional pain you're probably going to experience."

"I'm ready," she says with conviction. She wants some answers.

"Lay back and clear your mind."

Elena leans her head back on the cushion and tries to clear her head. He begins to chant.

She's sitting in a sandbox at her old day-care centre. Across from her, Bonnie is shovelling sand into a bucket with the intent only a three year old can muster. In the corner of her eye, on the swing set, she glimpses Caroline's blond head bobbing up and down, shrieking in delight as she climbs higher and higher. She looks down, and continues scrapping up some sand with her green shovel, she is about to dump it into the bucket when she is abruptly yanked up by her elbows from behind, spilling sand all over herself.

"Hey!" She cries out, kicking her feet and trying to figure out who has grabbed her. A hand covers her mouth. Her eyes dart back and forth, looking for a teacher. She kicks again, trying to move enough to get their attention but the teacher glances over her blankly, as if she isn't even there, and starts walking angrily towards Tyler Lockwood who is trying to make Matt eat sand. She continues to struggle as they haul her out of the centre, all of the other children and staff look right past them. As they reach the gate leading to the parking lot, Elena has a moment of hope. Vicky Donovan is sitting on one of the tricycles eating goldfish, she looks up, straight at her. Elena catches her eye, pleading. Her hope is quickly squashed, the person holding her shifts her, and bends down so they are eye level with Vicky.

"You didn't see anything." He says.

"I didn't see anything." Vicky repeats blankly. The man stands up, with Elena still pinned, and hauls her out to the parking lot. He opens the door to a van, plops her into a seat, and buckles her in. The door closes and the car starts. As the shock wears off and she begins to cry. She has never been treated so roughly, she wants her mother, the seatbelt is too tight and she has never ridden anywhere without a child's carseat.

"Make it stop crying!" The driver says from the front. There's a sigh and one of men turns to face her. He looks into her eyes.

"Stop crying and be quiet." He says. Elena stops crying but she is still afraid.

"What else do we have to do?" The man asks.

"Nothing. We deliver the doppelganger, Mikael lets us go." The two men fall silent and the car continues down a bumpy road. It seems like hours later but it is probably less than one when the van lurches to a sudden stop.

"What the—?" The driver says, opening the door and getting out, his partner in the passenger seat follows suit. There's the sound of a scuffle, some tearing and then a scream. In the back seat, Elena whimpers. She hears footsteps, someone opens the door to the van and sticks their head in. She screams at first, not wanting anyone to get near her.

"Elena," he says relived. Elena starts to realize she recognizes this man, this is her Uncle Jon. "Thank god!" He reaches over and unbuckles her, pulling her into his arms. "Don't worry, it's me, it's Uncle Jon. It's going to be okay." He reassures her, rubbing her back. "You're going to be okay."

"I want my mommy." She cries, clinging to him.

"Are you hurt? Did they hurt you?" He pulls back, examining her but does not see any blatant injuries. "Shhh, it's okay Elena. I'm taking you home right now." He carries her to his car and sets her in the backseat. "Are you hungry? I have some goldfish. Or some juice maybe?"

"Juice please." She says, still crying a little. He grabs a juice box from the front seat and helps her drink it.

Elena eyes him unnervingly as she sucks down her juice. He smoothes her hair back tenderly and offers her a few goldfish. She takes them eagerly.

"I'm going to take you home now, okay Elena? You'll see your mom soon."

He buckles her in gently and shuts the door. As he drives, Elena watches the world flying by out the window. It was just after snack time when they took her from the day-care centre, it is almost dark now. She watches out the window for awhile but soon the trauma and her lack of nap time catch up to her, she falls asleep.

When she wakes, Uncle Jon is gently lifting her out of the car. "Easy there," he tells her. "It's alright. You're home now."

He carries her up to the front door and enters the house.

"Jon?" Her mother comes rushing towards her. "Oh thank god!" She cries as she sees Elena in his arms. "Is she alright? Are you alright honey? Come here." Elena finds herself eased into her mother's arms, her mother rocks her gently. "It's okay honey, I'm here now." Her mother holds her close, examining her for injuries.

"She's alright Miranda. Just shaken up. Where is Gray?"

"He and Liz Forbes went out to check the caves by the lake. I'll call the sheriff's department and tell them you found her. What happened Jon?" She asks, still holding her daughter tightly as she heads into the kitchen. Jeremy is bouncing in his baby swing while Caroline sits at the table colouring.

"I tracked them about halfway out to Lovingston, I think they were probably heading towards the Appalachians. Abby is luring the other," he lowers his voice, "vampire out of town?"

"She's trying." Miranda responds, she motions her head towards Caroline, "Bill is out of town and Liz understandably didn't want to leave her with a sitter."

"Elena!" Caroline exclaims, seeing her friend has arrived. "Colour!"

"Elena isn't feeling very well right now Caroline, can you colour by yourself for a little while?" Miranda says, shifting Elena on one hip as she dials the police station.

Caroline pouts. "How about I colour with you instead?" Jon volunteers.

Caroline eyes him warily and pushes over a colouring sheet. "Barbie's dress is purple," she orders, as if daring him to colour it anything else. Jon obediently reaches for the purple crayon.

Elena leans her head on her mother's shoulder, dozing as she makes her phone call and moves around the kitchen. She hasn't been carried around like this since Jeremy was born and she wasn't the baby anymore. She lifts her head when she hears her father's voice.

"Jon, you found her! Is she alright?" Her father asks, taking her out of her mother's arms.

"She's been unusually quiet," Miranda remarks, worriedly.

"That's normal in this circumstance," he comments, examining her, "Are you alright, peanut?" He asks. "Does anything hurt?"

Elena shakes her head no. He father examines her pupils and checks her over for bruises. "I think she's okay, physically at least. Elena, are you hungry sweetie?"

"Yes."

"Okay, let's put your pjs on and get you something to eat." He lifts her up. Elena snuggles herself against him.

"I should head out. I need to go deal with the—" Jon eyes the children, "the remnants of what transpired."

"Thank you," Miranda tells him, her voice cracking. "For bringing her home."

"Would you like me to come with you Jon?" Her father asks, Elena can feel his voice reverberating through his chest.

"No, you have your hands full here. Call me when you hear from Abby alight?"

"You should at least take someone with you," her father insists, "Liz got stuck on duty for the rest of the night, see if she can go with you."

"I will, thank you." Jon gives sad smile and leans over to kiss the top of Elena's head, and gently smoothes her hair. "Good night." He says, there's a haunted look in his eyes as they meet her own.

Elena struggles as the car fills with water, in front of her, her father thrashes trying to get out while her mother lays motionless. She tugs and tugs on her seatbelt but it will not give, panicking, she inhales a mouthful of water. She continues to struggle but her eyes and throat are burning, her vision starts to blur. A pair of arms wraps around her and she passes out. The next thing she knows she is laying on her side on the top of the bridge vomiting up mouthfuls of water. A boy, dripping wet is kneeling next to her, his eyes boring into her with a mixture of love and loathing. She blinks and he is gone.

Aunt Jenna's stricken face is illuminated by the torches while Klaus drags her away. Elena throws herself towards them, but she is bound by the witches spell, she screams, unable to do anything as Klaus raises the stake and brings it down into her beloved Aunt's sternum, throwing his head back as the power washes over him.

Stefan is coming at her, snarling, she tries to run but she trips and there is nothing but pain as he bites into her neck. She struggles, begging him to return to the Stefan she knows. But it is useless, she is helpless and the boy who loved her, who saved her, who would do anything for her, is gone. She resigns herself to the fact these may well be her last moments. She worries about Jeremy, who is going to be alone in the world now, she wonders if Damon will kill Stefan over this, even in this dying moment, she hopes he won't do it.

"Stop now Stefan." Klaus orders. Stefan drops her like a hot poker, Elena collapses onto the floor into a heap. She lies there, feeling stupid, helpless and abandoned by everyone she loves. She can see Klaus's shoes, moving towards her across the tile floor, he stops right in front of her. She gulps. Perhaps he will be merciful and kill her himself.

"Have you learned your lesson about trying to cross me, love?" He asks. He lifts her up into his arms and she is powerless to protest. "Come now, I need a bit more blood from you if you want your friend Tyler to last the night."

She is sitting in her dimly lit bedroom, Damon is sitting on the window seat, Stefan is sitting next to her on the bed. Stefan is looking at her with something wild in his eyes, Damon won't look at her at all.

"I thought that I...how did you?" She asks, trying to make sense of her accident.

"Save you?" Damon replies acidly, "He didn't," his voice is filled with grief.

Stefan tries to explain calmly, but there is an edge in his voice, "When Jeremy brought you into the hospital earlier, your injuries worse than anyone knew. Meredith Fell made a choice. She used Damon's blood to heal you."

"And when Rebekah ran Matt's truck off the road, you had vampire blood in your system," Damon adds.

"Does that mean that I..? Am I dead?" She can't be dead. She can't be. This is a nightmare. She is eighteen years old. She can't be a vampire. If she's a vampire that means she died. If she's a vampire that means she will be like _her_.

She looks from one brother to the other; neither of them can meet her eyes. The truth hits her like a punch in the face. She is dead. She is eighteen years old and she is dead. "No, no, no, no!"

Elena's eyes snap open. She finds herself back on the floor of the little office, tears streaming down her face. The warlock regards her kindly.

"That was quicker than I thought it would be." He offers her a tissue and sits quietly as she sobs.

"I um...I'm sorry I just—my emotions are heighted right now. Oh god I sound like Stefan—" she bursts into another round of sobs as she tries to balance the hurt of remembering him attack her and the guilt she feels for breaking his heart.

"Take your time," the warlock says. "Your reaction is perfectly normal."

"It was like reliving all my worst nightmares."

"Were there any memories completely unfamiliar to you?"

"Just one. I was abducted as a little kid."

"How horrible."

"Compared to the rest of them, it was nice," Elena dabs her eyes. "My parents died a few years ago, at least I was able to see them alive again for a few minutes." She stands up, opening her purse. "How much do I owe you?"

He waves a hand, "When I touched you I saw you were friends with a Bennett witch. That is how I knew I could trust you. I do not require anything from you but a promise you stand will stand by her."

"Of course."

"It is very rare that vampires and witches get along."

"Bonnie and I have been friends since birth practically."

His lips turn up into a smile, "You have caught me by surprise, I forget sometimes, that vampires are not always the way they are. It was a pleasure meeting you Miss Gilbert."

"Thank you Mr...?"

"Barnes."

Elena shakes his hand. "Thank you Mr. Barnes."

She has a list from Katherine of potential vampire spots to hit up for information, but she feels too emotionally exhausted to talk to anyone. Instead, she returns to their hotel, purchases herself a pair tennis shoes and some work out attire at the hotel gift shop and hits the gym. Alaric taught her the basics of using the punching bag but she hasn't attempted it since she was turned. Now, more than ever before, she wants to feel as if she can fight. More than anything the memories she brought up made her feel powerless, not in a sense of letting someone else handle everything but in a sense of being completely and utterly unable to do anything. She locates a room with a punching bag in the back and she kicks and punches with all the energy she can muster, wishing she could do this to Katherine, to the stupid sire bond, to Klaus. Finally, after what seems like hours she sinks to the ground in exhausted tears, her knuckles raw and bloody. She drags herself back upstairs, into her room, her shower, her pyjamas, and finally into bed where she walls into a deep sleep. For once, her dreams are peaceful.

_It's early morning, she leans her elbows on the balcony, staring out at the ocean. She can feel a hint of a soft breeze, the sensation of her bare feet on the cool patio tile. The pink of the light casts a glow over everything. Every few minutes on the horizon, she sees the flash of a whale's tail before it is gone again. _

_" 'She wasn't doing a thing that I could see, except standing there, leaning on the balcony railing, holding the universe together,' " Damon remarks. _

_ Elena turns around, Damon is leaning in the doorway, cupping a mug of coffee in one hand, watching her. _

_"It's Salinger," he explains. _

_Elena laughs, "You do love your Salinger, don't you?"_

_"Seemed appropriate." _

_"Come watch the whales with me," she tells him. Damon sets down his coffee and comes up next to her. "See?" She points to a splash on the horizon. _

_"Where?"_

_"Look towards that tree there." She points a tree near the shoreline. "And look straight ahead, see it?"_

_Instead he turns to face her, amused. "What?" She asks. _

_He brushes a strand of hair out of her face. "Nothing."He says, smiling. _

_He turns back to face the ocean, slipping an arm around her waist, and they stand there together, barefoot in the sunlight, watching the whales. _

**A/N: The song Elena sings at Caritas is "I Shall Believe" the lyrics belong to Sheryl Crow and Bill Bottrell. It's a great song, I recommend it. Thanks for reading! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Elena wakes in a daze, still caught in her dreams of sunshine, of bare feet on cool tiles, the ocean stretching out before her and Damon at her side. She rolls over, staring at the clock by her bed. It is 2AM, Christmas Eve. She tries to forget the dream and go back to sleep, but she can't shake the feeling of wistfulness it incited. She reaches for her phone and dials Damon, snuggling back underneath the blankets.

"Elena?" Damon answers after a few rings, his voice heavy with sleep.

"Hey."

"Is everything okay?" She can hear the rustling of him sitting up in bed.

"I'm sorry_," _she apologises_, "_I woke you up."

"It's alright, what's wrong?" He asks blearily.

"Nothing. I was just dreaming about you. Missed you."

"Was I naked?"

She laughs, "No."

"Well that's disappointing_," _he quips, slightly more awake.

"Tell me about it," she replies, smiling.

"Have you found anything out yet?" She can hear him moving around the room now, opening and closing drawers.

"I hope so_;_ I think we're getting there. I went under another spell, to find out some of my repressed memories."

"That can't have drudged up anything pleasant," his voice says, muffled, as if he is pulling on a shirt.

"It didn't. It turns out that fifteen years ago when Mikael showed up in Mystic Falls looking for the doppelganger, he found me."

"What do you mean he found you?" Damon questions, his voice suddenly clearer.

Elena pauses a moment, gathering her thoughts, "I was abducted from my day care centre; I was taken by some vampires. I think they were compelled. They were going to take me to Mikael but Jon managed to stop them."

"_Jon_ stopped them?" He asks, unbelieving.

"Yeah, he tracked them down and brought me home. I saw my parents... It was nice to see them again; I can't remember when I last saw them so clearly."

He is silent for a moment, "Do you want me to wake Jeremy up so you can talk to him?"

"It's not safe for him to know."

"Um...about that… We figured out he can't be compelled anymore and with all the vervain gone, he's probably the safest person around. So...he kind of already knows."

Elena sits up in shock, "You told him?"

"He needed to know. Hang on, I'm going to go get him up. You should talk to him; it's Christmas after all."

"Did you tell Matt too?" she asks. She can hear him opening the door and padding down the hallway.

"God no," he retorts, "That kid is like a danger magnet."

The phone quiets.

"Hello?" Elena calls. "Damon?" She waits for a moment, glancing at the screen on her phone. The call has not been dropped but there is no background noise.

"Elena?" Jeremy answers. "Are you okay?"

"Jeremy?" she asks, "That was weird. Something happened to the phone."

"I think Damon accidently hit the mute button," he explains, "Why are you calling at five in the morning?"

"To wish you a Merry Christmas?" She replies coyly.

"You couldn't do that in maybe four to six hours? Where are you?"

"It's better if you don't know. But I'm hoping I'll be home within the next few weeks."

"Good. Now that I don't want to kill you anymore, I miss you."

"I miss you too. How is everything going?"

"It's alright. Your boyfriend's a tyrant, though."

"He told you we were...dating?" Elena ekes out, wondering how her brother has taken this particular news.

"Well he left out the gory details, thank God, but yeah. For the record I'm cool with it but I'll be cooler with it when he's not constantly breathing down my neck."

"What is he making you do?" Elena questions, defensive of her little brother.

"Nothing bad, Elena, just a lot of training, running laps, and stuff."

"How is the map coming along?"

"Ah, you know, it's coming along. A bit more time I think," he replies vaguely.

"Isn't Klaus getting impatient?"

"Klaus is always impatient; that's nothing new."

"But other than that you're okay?"

"I'm fine," he reassures, "I promise. Damon cut me off from pizza, but otherwise I'm eating three square meals and everything. Don't worry about me, okay? You just do what you need to do."

"Speaking of that. I had to go into one of my childhood memories the other day; I saw Mom and Dad. It was...nice."

"I miss them too," he confesses.

"Do you think they can see us?"

"Sure, why not? I mean they're not on the Other Side so I can't contact them. But yeah, I'm sure they're out there."

"It's a nice thought. I think they'd hate what I've become, though."

"I don't. If anything I think they'd be proud that you're fighting back, not letting yourself become a monster. Taking care of me."

Elena lets out a bitter laugh, "Yeah, I'm doing a great job of that. I've left you in the hands of my much older, occasionally unstable, often drunk, vampire boyfriend and run off with a psychopath in attempts to rid the world of a vampire werewolf hybrid who is obsessed with my best friend."

Jeremy laughs cheerfully, "I wish I could deny it, but all of that is true. Sucks we're missing Christmas together, though."

"Will you hang up my ornaments for me?"

"I already did. Even that ugly purple reindeer one you made when you were six. Matt and I cut down a tree and everything. Seemed kind of stupid given it's just the three of us, and I don't think Damon really celebrates...anything. But it's nice anyways."

"I can't believe you hung up the purple reindeer!" Elena exclaims. "That thing is hideous!"

"Hey, that's your fault for making it purple in the first place and then not destroying it as soon as you had the opportunity."

"I'm pretty sure I tried. Mom kept gluing it back together." She is quiet for a moment., remembering. "I'm glad, at least, the three of you are together. Matt doesn't really have any family left and it's my fault Stefan and Damon are on the outs right now."

"Yeah, Matt's been great. He doesn't have to be here, but he's been here ever since school let out, training with me. It's good to have a sparring partner that's not completely indestructible. Listen, I should go. I need to start my run soon, and I know Damon wants to talk to you more."

"Alright, Merry Christmas, I love you. Be safe okay?"

"Love you, too, 'Lena." She waits, listening as some doors slam and feet stomp, followed by Damon picking up.

"Hey, it's me again."

"Hi."

"Did you have a good talk with Jeremy?"

"Yeah, it was nice. I don't know what you're doing to him, but he sounds okay."

"He seems to be morphing into someone who will be a semi-competent adult."

"He looks up to you, Damon."

"Well, that's unfortunate."

"C'mon. You know you like him," she encourages, smiling.

"He's slightly less annoying then he used to be," Damon confesses.

"You like him," she teases. "Hey, I've been meaning to ask you, what year was it you saw Cordelia Chase?"

Damon thinks for a moment, "I'm pretty sure it was 2000. Frosted tips, Britney Spears, it was horrifying."

"I'll keep looking then. I haven't been able to find anything recent for her. Maybe she's moved on since then."

"That's very likely. It was a long shot anyways. Like I said, I only met her the one time."

"Well, it's worth a trip to the library at least."

"Don't stress about it; worry about the sire bond, Elena. How close are you?" She notices his voice has an edge of apprehension to it, beyond the usual concern.

"Closer? I'm not sure. I was thinking about it, though. Damon...why do you love me?"

Damon sighs, "That's not really fair, Elena. There is no right way to answer that question. I just do."

"I'm sorry… I'm not trying to be needy; I'm just asking because of...Katherine."

"What?" Damon replies, confused.

Elena hesitates, trying to figure out how to express herself, "I just...I think for a long time I equated what I would be like as a vampire with turning into Katherine. It makes me wonder if you and Stefan have too."

"I don't know what has been going through Stefan's head since you turned_," _Damon says evenly, "And frankly, I don't want to. But I far as I'm concerned, the answer is an unequivocal 'no'. You might be different then you used to be, a little darker, maybe. But you're still you. You're just as stubborn and insistent on doing the right thing as you always have been. I like you this way, Elena, you know that. I am finding you this cure because it is what you want, and I want you to have everything you want."

"I know that," Elena replies softly, "And you have no idea how much that means to me. But some part of me wonders... if you liking me better this way...is you wanting the future you never got with Katherine."

"I didn't say I liked you better this way. I said I 'liked' you this way," Damon says sharply. "Let me ask you: why do you love me?"

"I think there are a lot of reasons. But when I went under that spell and I was living all those repressed memories, they were all of these horrible moments; I felt completely powerless to do anything. But, except for finding out when I was a vampire, none of them involved you."

"Could be a manifestation of the sire bond."

"No, I think it's because I feel strong when I'm with you. That's not the only reason, but I think it's one that matters."

"You've always had that in you, when you've needed it. For Jeremy."

"I guess I'm finally figuring out what it means. What happens to us when I take the cure Damon?"

"Whatever you want to happen, Elena," Damon responds instantly.

"Would you consider taking it with me?" Elena asks.

He hesitates, "I don't know how many doses there will be," he says finally.

"But if you could?" Elena urges.

"If that's what you really want."

"But what do _you_ want Damon?"

"We're still sire bonded. I can't tell you that; it'll mess with your head."

Elena sinks back against the pillows. "Okay, tell me something else then. I'm supposed to be working through this stuff."

Damon thinks for a moment, "You surprise me. All the time. The first time I met you, you were so far from what I expected."

"And what did you expect?"

"A spineless seventeen year old girl with normal seventeen year old girl problems."

"I wish."

"I don't. I know you think it's because you're a vampire but you've always had an edge to you Elena. A darkness. And it's not a bad thing. It's what makes you strong. You were never really afraid of me, even when you should have been."

"You're not as scary as you think you are Damon."

"I am too. You just see something...different in me. You've always made me want to be better. You're the only person in one hundred and seventy-two years who has ever made me want to be better." He pauses for a moment, gearing up what he has to say. "But you need to listen to me. That doesn't mean I'm always going to play the good guy, because I'm not the good guy. Sometimes I'm going to do things you're not going to like or approve of, but I promise you that when I do, no matter how misguided you think I am, what I did was for you. I'm trying to be the person you deserve."

"You already are, Damon."

"I'm not. But maybe I can be." He's quiet for a moment. "Jeremy put up all your old ornaments. You really didn't get the artistic genes did you?"

Elena slaps her forehead in embarrassment even though he can't see her. "Nope, those went straight to Jeremy. Plus, I went through this phase as a kid where I hated Christmas colours and refused to make anything red or green."

"That explains the purple blobby thing with the bell on it."

"For your information, it's a reindeer. Are you guys going to celebrate Christmas at all?"

"Well I was thinking of letting them get roaring drunk and throwing them in the lake, maybe making them run a few laps around it, too, just to be festive."

"Damon!" Elena cries out, laughing.

"Ah see, I made you laugh, though, didn't I? What do you and Katherine have planned?"

"Hmm, well I don't know. Probably some mass murder, followed by stabbing someone who trusts us in the back, engineering a diabolical master plan, then I think I'm just going to listen to her snipe at me until I can't take it anymore, try and kill her, and wind up dead in the process."

"Wow, you've got a busy day planned."

"You know Katherine; the girl has her flaws but she sure isn't lazy."

"Speaking from experience, master plans are a lot of work. I'm surprised Caroline doesn't have one actually. She could run the world if she tried."

"Who says she isn't? By the way, have you talked to her?"

"Yeah, I've been checking in on Stefan. He's doing better by the way. She said yesterday he read _The Count of Monte Cristo_ in its entirety, and he didn't start drinking until almost four. Progress."

"I'm glad. When you talk to her, tell her I miss her, okay?"

"Will do. I should probably go now. Gotta go boss Jeremy around."

"Be nice."

"Did you not hear what I _just_ said about being the good guy?"

"Yeah, yeah. I love you anyways. Have a good day. Try not to traumatize them too much."

"I love you, too. Don't try to kill Katherine without me. That's a moment I really want to relish. Maybe even record so I can watch it more than once."

Elena dozes for a while after hanging up with Damon. When she wakes, she feels considerably better. Yawning, she strolls into the adjoining living room for a morning blood bag. Katherine is sprawled on the couch watching reality TV.

"Merry Christmas." Elena wishes her, pulling a bag out of the fridge.

"What?" Katherine responds lazily.

"It's Christmas Eve."

"Is it really? Wow."

"Did you find anything out yesterday?" Elena asks, pouring the blood into a tumbler.

"No. All anyone seems to be able to tell me is that he was here and now he's not. This is getting ridiculous." Katherine walks over to the window and pauses for a moment. "I've been trying to get a hold of a friend of mine, a vengeance demon, for weeks now and nothing. Which is frustrating, because vengeance demons know everyone." She sighs heavily. "Anyanka, I call on you," She calls firmly. However, nothing happens.

"Was something supposed to happen?" Elena asks. Katherine just glares at her.

"Anya?" She calls louder, still nothing happens. "Dammit, Anya! I said I was sorry about the thing with the rabbits in Bora-Bora, okay? Anya?" She pauses again and throws her hands up in frustration. "You know what?" she yells. "Fine! Halfraek, I call on you!"

There is a swirl of air and Katherine turns around. "It's about time," she spits, "I've been calling you for...D'Hoffran?"

A wrinkly faced demon with a strange beard, multiple horns and even stranger attire appears.

"Clearly you haven't heard." He states, brushing off his strange brown robes.

"Heard what?" Katherine asks, "Where the hell is Anya, I've been calling her for weeks."

"Anyanka and Halfraek are dead," he explains coldly. "They've been dead for a decade now. How did you not know that, Katerina? I thought you were such close friends?"

Katherine sinks to the ground, her head in her hands. "I thought...I figured she was busy...What? When?" She looks up at D'Hoffran in disbelief.

"Halfraek died because Anyanka let her moral scruples get in the way of vengeance," D'Hoffran explains, "And Anyanka was killed in Sunnydale. Would you please stop calling on them? It's giving me a headache."

"But..." Katherine protests.

"Good day, Katerina. Let me know if you reconsider my offer." He is gone again with a whirl of smoke. Katherine curls up into a ball, her head resting on her knees.

Elena isn't sure what to do. She's never seen Katherine visibly upset, or visibly demonstrate any sort of emotion really.

"Katherine?" she asks worriedly. Katherine doesn't respond. Elena reaches out and puts a hand on her shoulder. "Katherine, I'm so sorry about your friend. I didn't realize you had friends, but I'm really sorry anyways."

Katherine sits up, wiping her eyes, and shakes Elena's hand off her shoulder. "I don't have friends Elena," she growls. She grabs a bottle of brandy off the liquor cart and storms into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

* * *

An hour later, Elena has showered and dressed, but there is still no sign of Katherine. She waits a while longer, but when she still does not reappear, she decides to take advantage of it and spend the day looking for Cordelia. She heads downtown to the library and begins her search with phone listings from 2000. She locates a Cordelia Chase living in downtown LA, but a quick Google search reveals the building has since been torn down.

Searching for Angel Investigations reveals even less; they are not listed in the white pages, registered with the Better Business Bureau, or on any public tax information It is almost as if they never existed. Finally, after searching through the newspaper databases for what seems like every newspaper in LA, she stumbles across a nugget of information.

The story, dated 2003, relates to the apprehending of a murder and the closing of a case.

**_"The police do not have any comments at this time, but they would like to thank the team at Angel Investigations in the Hyperion Hotel for their help and cooperation."_**

Eagerly, Elena locates the hotel, a historically listed property located on Hyperion Avenue. After leaving the library, she finds the hotel with no problems, but the building is clearly no longer a working business, the windows are boarded up, and the door locked with a padlock. Glancing around to make sure no one is watching, she breaks the lock off with one quick jerk and slips into the building.

The main lobby is dark and cobwebby, her footsteps loud on the tile floors, and she peers around. The furniture remains in the building, covered in ghostly looking sheets. She decides to start with the front desk. A search of the drawers reveals nothing but a handful of pens and a pile of business cards that read "_Angel Investigations, we help the helpless_." She pockets one and moves on to the backroom where four filing cabinets sit against the walls, all of them filled with papers. Elena excitedly begins to shift through them, finding case files concerning all kinds of strange demons. Cordelia's initials and signature are all over them but there is no further information about her.

Frustrated, Elena closes the top drawer and starts digging through the next three, which reveal more of the same. They must have operated under the radar, because she can find no employment records, and no tax information. All she gleans is a handful of names and a sense that these people were fighting demons together. There is not a single mention of Spike, and if there was a vampire involved as Damon had mentioned, she can't deduce whether he was Angel, Wesley, Gunn or Fred. Discouraged, she glances at her watch; it's after dark and she best hit up a few of those demon bars Katherine tasked her with previously. If nothing else, someone surely must know something about a band of demon fighters.

The first bar Katherine sent her turns out to be a bust; now in a better lit, much nicer part of town, it is operating as a pet store. The second however, a dilapidated warehouse located in a dark alley around the corner from what she can only deduce is a fully operational crack den, appears to be promising. Walking past it, she reminds herself she isn't a human anymore; she can handle a few crack heads. As soon as she opens the door to the bar though, her spine tingles with anxiety. Demons with strange wrinkly faces are scattered about the room, chatting and drinking. As she gets a closer look, Elena realizes these must be the other kind of vampires. She ignores them eyeing her and makes her way up to the bar.

"I'd like a pint of blood please," she tells the bartender, with as much faked confidence as she can muster. He is clearly a human, who eyes her in a way that makes her skin crawl.

"Was that your way of offering us a drink honey?" a wrinkly faced vampire suggests, propping his elbow on the bar next to her.

Elena turns around to find that a ring of vampires have surrounded her.

"What a lucky day, Pete," one of them comments to the other, laughing. "How often is it that dinner just walks right into a bar?"

Elena glares at them, "I'm not a human," she says. They move closer.

"You sure look like a human," one of them utters, grabbing her arm. Elena yanks it away, snarling. The vampire in question backs away from her.

"What are you?" He blubbers.

"I'm a vampire," Elena snaps. "And I don't blood share with just anyone, so get out of my face."

A few of them back away, moving back to their tables. But a few remain, watching her with quizzical expressions.

She turns back to the bartender, "I'd still like that blood please."

"Hey, I know you!" he exclaims as he finally focuses on her face, "You used to come to my bar in Sunnydale. Remember me? Willy?" Elena attempts to toss her hair the way Katherine would.

"You're right; I do remember you," she lies, trying to put on a manipulative Katherine smile.

"What brings a pretty thing like you to LA?" he asks.

"I'm looking for someone," she announces, "Spike, they call him. Last I heard, he was in Sunnydale. But it appears that was a bust."

"Oh yeah. Spike and I, we go way back. We're old friends."

"I don't suppose you can tell me where to find him?" Elena asks sweetly, sipping her blood.

"Ah, now see he's been gone for a while."

"How long?" She questions, an edge to her voice.

"I don't know, awhile." He replies, cagey.

"Maybe you need some help jogging your memory?" Elena says, setting down her glass, putting both hands on the bar and leaning in closer. She doesn't want to actually hurt him, but she must do a decent job of looking as if she will because he begins to visibly shake.

"Come now, no need for that," he stutters.

"Answer my questions," Elena demands, her pupils dilating as she compels him.

"He was here after Sunnydale collapsed," Willy tells her, his face blank and his body still. "He was running with Angel for awhile there. I don't know what happened after that." He replies nervously.

"Where is he now?" She demands evenly.

"I don't know. There's rumour he went back to Europe."

"Where?" Elena snarls, her gaze hardening_._

"I don't know!" Willy shouts as he starts to quiver in fear once more. Elena suppresses a smirk.

"Was this 'Angel' of Angel Investigations that he was running with?"

"Yeah, of course," Willy answers very quickly, "The vampire with a soul. They closed up shop a good while ago, another apocalypse thing. No one has seen him in years. He's gotten reclusive. I'm not even sure he's still in LA."

"What about Cordelia Chase?"

"Who?" He asks, confused.

Elena backs away, contemplating, but keeps her eyes fixed on Willy's. She has information, but none of the information she wanted. Deciding this is enough, she releases Willy of her compulsion, downs her blood, and heads home to see how Katherine is faring.

Back in the alley she picks her way through around pieces of garbage, her footsteps echoing softly on the pavement. Her skin prickles; it feels as if someone is watching her. She glances behind her, seeing nothing but an empty disgusting alley, and begins to walk more quickly. She is almost to the street when they appear in front of her. Three of the vampires from the bar block her route.

"Going somewhere?" one of them questions. Elena glances behind her. The end of the alley reveals nothing but a brick wall. She could try to get past them with a burst of speed, but that seems unlikely. She crosses her arms defensively.

"What do you want?" she snipes.

"What do you think we want?" another, wearing a dirty Jimmy Hendrix t-shirt, retorts with laughter.

"Get out of my way," Elena snarls, revealing her fangs.

The Hendrix clad vampire snickers and grabs for her. Elena lands a punch to his gut before he grabs her throat and forces her to the ground.

"Listen to me," he orders with reeking breath burning her nose. "This is our town. We don't welcome your kind here. You think you can just come here, try and take over, mind control our food sources? Well I've got news for you." He runs a hand up her shirt, keeping the other on her throat, the other vampires snicker.

Elena struggles, trying to force him off her, but she is pinned firmly by the throat and he is much stronger. Remembering what Alaric and Damon have taught her, her eyes flick around, looking for something she can use as a weapon. There's a needle lying near her left. She stretches her hand out, barely grasping it.

A crash sounds at the other end of the alley.

Taking advantage of his temporary distraction, she swings her arm around and plunges the needle into his neck as hard as she can. She doesn't wait to see how long it incapacitates him; instead, she throws him off of her and grabs for the closest thing she can get: a lid from a nearby dumpster. He rises, moving towards her, but she rips the lid off the dumpster and swings it at his head with all the strength she can muster. The sharp edge of the lid and the speed in which she swings it take his head clean off.

Moments later, he explodes in a shower of ash.

The other two vampires look at her holding the lid to the dumpster, and then run away. Elena drops the lid, breathing heavily.

"Nice moves," a throaty, mysterious voice says from the shadows remarks. She stiffens, picking up the lid again. "No need," a man says, stepping out from the darkness, his hands in the air. "I'm not going to hurt you."With the dim glow coming from the street, Elena just can make out that he good looking, in his twenties probably, with dark hair, donned in a long black coat. "I was about to step in actually when you grabbed that needle."

"Who are you?" Elena asks.

"I'm Angel."

"The vampire with a soul?" She asks lamely.

"I've been known by worse," he responds with a smirk. "And you're Elena Gilbert, the girl who has only recently become a vampire."

"And how would you know about that?"

"I've been following you." He pulls something out of his coat and tosses it to her. "You should be more careful with your possessions."

"You stole my wallet?" she utters in disbelief, examining what he tossed at her.

"You're the one who broke into my hotel." He eyes the lid that she still has clutched in her hand. "I'm not going to hurt you," he reminds her_,_ "If I wanted to, I would have by now."

Elena glares at him, retaining her hold on the lid. "Yeah, that's not really as reassuring as you think it is."

Angel laughs. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. Would you come back to the Hyperion Hotel with me? I think I can help you."

Elena drops the lid again. She knows he's right;_ e_ver since she arrived here, all signs have pointed to Angel. "Fine."

* * *

Back at the hotel, Angel lets her in the back door and leads her up a set of stairs to a small shabby sitting room.

"Sorry about the mess," he apologises, clearing some newspapers off a chair for her, "I don't get a whole lot of company."

"I gathered that when I was in the lobby earlier." Elena replies. She perches herself on the edge of the chair, afraid to get comfortable.

"Yeah, I don't use it much anymore," he says darkly, taking a seat himself.

Elena tries to bite her tongue, but her curiosity gets the better of her. "What happened?" she asks, "You had a whole organization going and you just—poof—fell off the map."

Angel shrugs. "A few years ago nearly everyone I worked with was killed," he summarizes, "I prefer to do work alone now."

"I'm sorry to hear that," she apologises sincerely.

"You mean that, don't you?" he observes quizzically.

"Why wouldn't I?" Elena asks, puzzled.

"I'm sorry, I'm just not used to vampires like you. My kind are a little different; Spike and I are the only ones I know of who have the capacity to...care."

"What do you know about my kind?"

"Not too much. There's not very many you left actually. But I know you originate from a witches curse, whereas we originate from the original demons that walked the earth; they're called the Old Ones. Your kind goes back only a thousand years or so, but our kind predates humanity itself."

"How do you know all this?"

"I'm over two hundred years old and I've been on the good side for a while now. I've had access to the Watcher's journals and other things."

"Watchers?"

"Every Slayer has a Watcher. He is supposed to guide her and research and record any demons she comes across."

"Oh."

"You're unique because when you are turned, you die, but your soul remains with you. For us, our souls are gone. They can be magically restored, but that has only happened twice that I know of. To me, of course, and to Spike. My question is, why have you been looking for him?"

"We're trying to stop a vampire back in Mystic Falls, one of the Originals of our line. The problem is: he's linked to us; if we kill him, it kills all of us. Katherine, the girl I'm travelling with, heard Spike was associated with a very powerful witch. One who might be able to undo the magic. It's a long shot, but...we're pretty desperate. Klaus has managed to turn himself into a vampire/werewolf hybrid and can create more like him. If he can get a few things he needs, he's going to create an army of them."

"What things?"

"In order to create hybrids, he needs werewolves, and he needs the blood of the doppelganger. Katherine and I are the doppelgangers. Only, we're no longer human. But they think they've found a cure for vampirism. Or at least for our kind of vampirism; I don't think it would work on you. If Katherine or I take it..."

"He'll be able to use your blood."

"We're trying to stop him before it comes to that."

"Where does Cordelia Chase come into this? I saw that you were looking for her."

"My um... a friend of mine, also a vampire, knew her here in LA, years ago. He knew she worked with a vampire, who turned out to be you, and he thought she might be able to point me in the right direction."

"Cordelia's dead," he states curtly. "I still have a lot of unanswered questions about it; I was hoping maybe you knew something."

"I'm sorry, I don't."

"And your friend?"

"He only met her once. I'm not sure of the circumstances. I can ask him, but I doubt he knows anything."

Angel watches her carefully, as if measuring her up. He's trying to decide if she is telling the truth. Not long after, he continues.

"The witch you want," he starts, "Her name is Willow Rosenberg. She was in Scotland last I heard, but I've been out of touch these last few years. I'm not sure if she's still there. But I know where Spike is, and I'm positive he'll know where to find Willow. He's definitely in London. Check the cemeteries; he likes a nice crypt. I'd start with Nunhead or Highgate."

Elena's face floods with relief. "Thank you. You have no idea how much this helps us."

"Will you answer a question for me though?" Angel asks.

"I can try."

"How did you turn?"

"Why do you want to know about that?"

"You obviously haven't been a vampire for very long. Call it curiosity."

Elena absently picks at some fraying trim on her chair. "It was an accident," she announces distantly, "I don't know how it works for your kind, but for us, vampire blood can heal human injuries. I had some kind of brain haemorrhage; when they took me to the hospital, the doctor gave me vampire blood to heal me. Later that night I was in a car accident, I died. And now I'm like this." Her last five words are filled with bitter resentment.

"I'm sorry."

"If they find the cure, I can turn back," Elena announces hopefully.

"Do you hate being this way so much?" he asks softly, "It could be worse."

"I know I should be glad, grateful even. As far as being a vampire goes, I know I don't have it so bad. But I can't help it; this isn't what I wanted for my life. I'm eighteen years old and I'm dead. I was supposed go to college, have a career, get married, have a family. And now I'll never get to do any of that."

"May I offer you some advice, Elena?"

"Um, sure."

"Don't confuse what you want in life with what you think you're supposed to want."

"Does it really matter anymore Angel? I'm dead. I'm dead and I killed someone. I never ever thought I had that in me, but he threatened my brother and I just— I lost my mind and snapped his neck. I snapped it like it was nothing."

"We all have that capacity in us. As vampires, we try and convince ourselves that the part of us that wants to kill isn't our human side; it's our demon one. But that's a lie; some of the most horrifying atrocities the world has ever seen haven't been committed by demons, but by humans. We all have the potential to be killers, Elena, and we all have the capacity to do evil. It's just as human as anything else about us. What matters are the choices we make, whether we are human or supernatural. We can choose to do the right thing, to help rather than to hurt, to protect rather than destroy."

"And that's why you do what you do?"

"I have a soul because I was cursed with one. I killed so many people and ruined so many lives that a gypsy put a curse on me as punishment. For years after that, I wandered around tormented and ashamed, doing nothing but feeling sorry for myself. It took a long time before I realized I could at least try to right the wrongs I have done. I'm still trying to redeem myself but I know I never will."

"I know someone who I think you would really like."

"Who might that be?"

"Ever heard of Stefan Salvatore?"

"The Ripper of Monterey?" Angel sneers with a bit of disgust.

"Former Ripper," Elena corrects, "Mostly. He's had a lot of trouble controlling his bloodlust in the past, but he really tries to live the best he can now; he only feeds of off animals. He's all about owning your choices and redemption and all of that."

"Tell me, how is it you know so many vampires? You speak fondly of them, and yet you hate what you are."

Elena shrugs. "I guess I've seen the best and worst of what we can do. And the fact that I have that capacity scares me," she swallows. "I haven't always known vampires if that's what you're asking me. But when Damon and Stefan Salvatore showed up in Mystic Falls a little over a year ago they attracted all kinds of supernatural crazy."

She looks around the room. It's rather sad; no Christmas decorations, no mementos. Just a few threadbare chairs, a mini-fridge, and a tea kettle. "So is this how you usually spend Christmas?" she asks, "Just sitting here by yourself?"

Angel sighs. "Sometimes I have work to do," he states, "But for the past few years, yes."

Elena feels sad for him, alone on Christmas, with all of his friends dead. And after over a week with Katherine, it's nice to converse with someone face to face without resisting the urge to light them on fire.

"Want some company?" she offers, "I can't stay for too long, but it's Christmas Eve. You shouldn't have to spend it entirely alone."

Angel gives her a half smile. "I would like that. Let me make you some tea. Or do you want blood? I have to resort to robbing blood banks myself."

"I'd love some blood if you're offering."

He grabs a few mugs off the shelf above the fridge and fills them with blood. He hands her one with writing on it. "_World's Broodiest Puppet_?" she asks, reading the side.

"It's an old inside joke," he holds his mug up to hers, "Cheers. Merry Christmas, Elena."

She smiles, clinking her mug against his, "Merry Christmas, Angel."

* * *

A few hours later, she returns to the hotel suite only to find it deserted. She paces for a few minutes, hoping Katherine will return and finally decides she might as well kill time and call Damon while she waits. The phone rings four times before someone picks up.

"Elena?" a—decidedly not Damon—female voice answers frantically.

"Caroline?" Elena clarifies, confused.

"Elena, where are you? What is going on?" Caroline questions anxiously.

"I can't tell you where I am. What's going on? Why do you have Damon's phone?"

"Elena, you need to come home. Things are not good."

"What happened? Where's Damon?"

"I don't know!" Caroline cries, nearly hysterical. She takes a breath before continuing, "Apparently Hayley was in league with Shane and they were going to rat out the plan to un-sire the hybrids to Klaus as some kind of ritual sacrifice—"

"What?" Elena cries in disbelief.

Caroline continues, "—now Shane is dead and Tyler and the rest of the hybrids have run for it and no one knows what happened to Hayley."

"What—"

"Klaus is already hunting them down."

"What happened to Jeremy and Damon? Caroline, are they together?"

Caroline hesitates for a moment. "Damon said Jeremy finished the map," she admits, "He told me they were going to take advantage of Klaus being distracted, and he and Jeremy and Stefan went after the cure. He left me his phone and told me to tell him when you called."

"He did _WHAT_?" Elena yells, wanting to wring Damon's neck. Jeremy's caginess about the map, Damon's comments this morning, all start to make a disturbing amount of sense. He was planning this.

"I'm sorry, Elena," Caroline says tearfully, "But we all agreed it was the best option. If they can find the cure, they can make Klaus mortal again."

"But..."

"I don't know what you're doing Elena, but Jeremy and Damon seemed to think it was important. Whatever it is, you need to hurry."

"I'm hurrying. I'm on the next flight to London."

"Good. I have to go now, Elena. Matt and I have a plan."

"Caroline, what are you trying to do?" Elena asks, distracted as Katherine finally strolls in. Elena bounces up and down a few times indicating she has news.

"Just hurry, Elena." Caroline says, hanging up and ignoring her question.

"What is it?" Katherine asks, clearly drunk. She throws her purse onto the floor and sinks into a chair morosely.

"Spike's in London." Elena delivers quickly.

"Really?" Katherine asks, perking up. "How do you know?"

"I found a friend of his who knows him. Katherine, we have to hurry—I just got off the phone with Caroline. Tyler Lockwood got all the hybrids un-sired and they ran for it. And while Klaus was distracted, apparently Damon, Stefan, and Jeremy took off looking for the cure."

Katherine's eyes widen. "That was stupid of them," she slurs, getting up and reaching for her purse.

"Look, we have to find that witch. Could you get us on the next flight to London? There's someone I have to call really quick."

"What?"

"I'll explain later. Just get us on a flight?"

"Yeah fine." Katherine scrolls through her phone, one that is a lot nicer than Elena's prepaid one.

"There's one leaving at ten."

"Great!" She replies, running into her room, phone in hand. Quickly, she dials the number on the Angel Investigations card, hoping Angel still uses it. It rings a few times before someone picks up.

"Hello?"

"Angel?"

"Buffy?"

"What? No. This is Elena.

"Oh, hello."

"Remember how I told you Klaus had already created a set of hybrids?"

"Yes?" He asks, befuddled.

"Well, I didn't mention that my friend Tyler was one of them, they've managed to break the bond that binds them to Klaus, and they're all on the run."

"And they need help?"

"I don't know where they are or where they're heading, but if you know of any way, can you help them?"

"I can try. I'll do what I can to find them, but if you can figure out a way to get in touch with them, send them my way, okay?"

"Thank you!" Elena exclaims quickly. "I have to go now; I need to be on the next flight to London."

"Good luck, Elena," he wishes sincerely.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five **

Elena reclines, trying to relax in her first class seat but she can't overcome her overwhelming agitation. She selects a film randomly, trying to take her mind of things, but she gives up trying to follow it after only a few moments. Sighing, she flicks off the TV, flips up the privacy protectors and pulls out a blood bag. It was a nightmare compelling them through security but she couldn't think of any other way to make it through the flight without feeding on the flight attendants.

Sipping it, she contemplates her situation; her emotions seem to be a constant whirlwind of anger at Damon for running off with her little brother and putting him in even more danger, _as well as_ concern for them both. She knows they can handle themselves, but this is Klaus. One bite, and Damon and Stefan could both be dead.

At least she fought back today. It gives her a sense of power knowing that she took on a vampire today with no help from anyone else and came out on top. She wonders if she could have taken on the other two as well.

Across the aisle, in her own seat, Katherine is sleeping peacefully, a faint smile on her face. _What does Katherine dream about?_ Elena wonders. _Does she dream of large scale master plans like overthrowing governments or is it something silly, like being chased by fluffy pink rabbits?_ She's never tried to get into anyone's head; she isn't even really sure how. But maybe with some concentration she could try. Just to satisfy her curiosity and boredom, she focuses on Katherine, trying to bring up whatever she is dreaming. She sees a flash of a pretty, dark haired girl in a flapper dress, her head thrown back laughing. She is gone after just a moment though.

"Nice try Elena," Katherine mutters, not bothering to open her eyes.

"I wanted to see if I could do it. Was that your friend?" she asks. "The one who died?"

Katherine sighs, opening her eyes. "Anya was not my friend. She was an ally."

"What's a vengeance demon do exactly?" Elena asks, anxious to take her mind off her problems.

Katherine however, is in the mood for mind games. "Ask Damon," she responds, digging a magazine out of her bag.

Elena rolls her eyes. She knows Katherine is manipulating her, but eventually curiosity wins out regardless. "Okay, I'll bite," she asks a few minutes later, "Why would Damon know about vengeance demons?"

Katherine laughs. "How do you think I kept track of him all those years? He and Anya had an on again off again thing going for decades. "

"I didn't think you cared enough to bother," Elena comments nonchalantly.

"Had to keep tabs on him trying to get that damn tomb open. Suffice to say, he's gotten around."

"Kind of like you then," Elena shoots back.

"I make no apologies for my promiscuity, Elena." Katherine makes a face at a picture of a particularly ugly dress and flicks the page.

"You might have gotten to me with Isobel, but that's not going to work again," Elena says with an air of superiority. "I'm well aware of Damon's past. I'm fine with it. There's nothing I can do about it."

"If anything, it should flatter you," Katherine declares, her voice riddled with boredom. "Two centuries, more women than I can count, and I'm quite sure you and I are the only ones he has ever loved. I always thought it was ironic that he hooked up with the patron saint of wronged women, though."

Elena bites back a laugh; Caroline would certainly appreciate that. "I'm not Catholic or anything, but that doesn't sound like any saint I've heard of."

"That was the name given to her when she became a vengeance demon. If a woman had been seriously wronged, Anya would show up and help them exact a wish for vengeance. It's how we met actually."

"What— so you met when you were human?"

"Things were different then; when you got pregnant out of wedlock, they didn't give you a TV show. You either got married or you became the whore of Babylon. The father of my child denied it was his and refused to marry me. I was angry and I wanted vengeance. Enter Anya."

"What did you do to him?" Elena asks eagerly, finding herself consumed with equal parts fascination and horror.

Katherine smirks, "Let's just say he was unable to father anymore children. It was one of our clever ideas. We were kind of a good team, Anya and I."

"I'm sorry she died."

Katherine shrugs, "Everyone dies eventually, Elena."

"Except you apparently," Elena retorts. Katherine just ignores her. "Can you teach me how to get into people's heads?" she asks, still wanting to distract herself.

"Why would I show you how to do something that would allow you into my head?" Katherine replies, irritated. "Make Damon or Stefan teach you sometime."

"That could be ages," Elena complains. "And besides, I'm not very happy with either of them right now. You can throw as many of Damon's former lovers in my face as you want, but I'm still going to be far more pissed off that he ran off with my little brother and put them in the most dangerous situation possible." She frowns. "For no good reason either," she adds.

Katherine turns and faces her. "I know Damon; I know how he thinks. It's not that he doesn't think we can find the witch, he's just ensuring they have backup and distracting Klaus from us while he does it. If they make Klaus mortal again there's a chance you might not get the cure, but knowing you, if you can selflessly save thousands of people from the hands of Klaus, you'll do it."

Elena considers this for a moment. "Well...yes."

"And think of it from Damon's perspective, if you take that cure, you go straight back to not only being a human, but also Klaus's walking blood bag. I doubt he wants either of those option."

"That's not true," Elena insists.

"He'll find it for you. And he'll let you take it if he can. But don't fool yourself, Elena; it's not what he wants."

"And you're an expert on what Damon wants?"

"He can't tell you himself because of the sire bond, but trust me, I know. Love makes you blind, Elena." Katherine says, turning back to her magazine. Elena throws up her hands in frustration and tries to go back to concentrating on something else.

* * *

As soon as the plane lands, they jump into a cab and head straight to Nunhead Cemetery. On the way, Elena tries calling both Damon and Caroline but both their phones go straight to voicemail. She leaves a message on Tyler's phone telling him to go to LA, hoping against hope he gets it. At Nungate, they are greeted with a rare day of London sunshine, the ground is wet beneath their feet from the latest rain shower.

"Let's split up," Katherine suggests. "You check the crypts on the other end, and I'll take this end. Look for any signs of forced entry. If you find him, yell. If not, we'll meet in the middle and head to Highgate."

The girls split up, Elena taking the far end of the graveyard. There are a few tourists scattered around, but the cemetery is largely empty. Elena starts near the street and systematically walks back and forth, covering ground. She spots a few crypts, but none of them show any signs of habitation or forced entry. She is near the centre where she is supposed to meet Katherine when she hears her shout her name. Quickly, Elena pushes off and runs towards the sound. She stops in front of a large, white crypt, bearing a statue of a weeping angel; she can't find any signs of entry until she circles around the back where there is a small hole in the foundation. She hears Katherine's voice.

"What are you doing?!" she yells. There's a loud crack, and then silence.

Elena doesn't hesitate; she drops her bag on the ground and squeezes herself through the hole. She finds herself in a small square room. It is almost completely dark and it takes a few moments for her eyes to adjust; were she not a vampire, she doubts she would be able to see anything at all. Katherine is crumpled in the corner, not moving. She's still alive, but clearly unconscious. In front of her a woman in a white dress kneels. Her dress and elaborately done hair would be appropriate for a turn of the century tea party, but her dirty bare feet that glow white on the dark floor suggest otherwise. She strokes Katherine's cheek. "Broken like little stars scattered all over the world. All alone." She speaks with a soft British accent. Elena halts, puzzled. Her words have no meaning, but she speaks with a childlike sense of understanding.

The woman rises, and turns, facing Elena. She looks at her with eyes that see…but yet do not. "Pink little soul, nestled right under your heart," she murmurs, reaching forward, as if to grab Elena's heart. Elena takes a step back. This woman is clearly insane. Her eyes flick to Katherine, still unconscious in the corner. How is she to get both of them past her and out of here? She has no idea how long Katherine will be unconscious.

"Don't you want to play?" the woman asks. She makes a cut on her wrist and holds it up, the blood glistening. She watches it in fascination. "Spilled your blood right over the moon, he did." Her eyes go to Katherine, then back to Elena. "One always loved, the other never loved enough, sad, sad. No one loves her anymore, do they?"

Elena moves towards Katherine.

"What are you?" she questions. Perhaps if she can keep her talking, she can at least get them both nearer to the exit. She inches closer to Katherine.

"I am what you are," the strange woman chirps. "The moon told me."

There's a broken doll lying on the ground next to Katherine; Elena pushes it aside as she kneels next to her. She slaps Katherine's face a few times. "Wake up," she hisses. Katherine's eyes crack open groggily. Elena gives her few seconds to take in her surroundings, then flicks her eyes towards the exit and back to Katherine. She nods, dazedly.

Elena stands and steps into the woman's line of sight, so she is facing Katherine and the woman has her back to her. She hopes to distract her long enough for Katherine to get out. Once she does, she figures she will try and take the vampire down and make a run for it. Chances are high she can't walk in the day, if they can just get out of the crypt.

The woman lays a hand on Elena's cheek. She flinches, stepping away in revulsion, her back now against the wall. "Everyone loves you, but then they die," the woman pouts. "Back into the ground. Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust." She swings her hips as if she is doing some kind of dance.

"I'm so glad the stars sent you here," she announces softly. "I've been all alone since Spikey got himself a soul. Just like Angelus. Pretty shiny little thing. So innocent." She grimaces. "I want to rip it out," she hisses. Her face softens. "I want to hold it," she pouts. Her breath in Elena's face is foul. Behind her, Katherine is crawling towards the exit.

"Who are you?" Elena asks. "Do you know where Spike is?"

"Shhhh," the woman shushes her, bringing a finger to Elena's lips. "Do you hear the stars? They're telling me a story." She touches Elena's face again. "Pretty little girl. Pretty little curse." Elena glances over her shoulder; Katherine is still moving, trying to be as quiet as possible. "What a gentle little lamb you are," she pauses for a moment, and then turns around, realizing Katherine is getting away.

"I am talking!" she shouts, her eyes flashing. Abandoning Elena, she grabs Katherine, shoving her up against the wall. "Rude to leave, while I'm telling my story." She brings up a hand and slaps her across the face. Katherine lands a kick to the woman's stomach, but all that seems to do is aggravate her more. The woman snarls, her face wrinkling and her fangs showing. She brings her finger to Katherine's neck and slices, grinning as the blood spurts out. "Flighty, flighty little birds," she complains, "Trying to leave me. All the birds stop singing."

Elena glances around the room for something, anything she can use as a weapon. There are few stone slabs, but they look a bit heavy, even for her strength. Her eyes fall on the broken porcelain doll lying where Katherine had formerly been crumpled. She inches around them and grabs the sharpest, most jagged piece of porcelain she can find.

Katherine is still struggling, her neck bleeding profusely. The woman raises her hand and slices open a new wound on Katherine's cheek. Elena creeps up behind her. She knows that this won't keep her down long, possibly not at all, but she has to try. She raises her arm and brings the sharp porcelain down, slicing as deep and as hard as she can into the woman's back. A large cut opens up, blood seeping into the white of the dress. The woman releases Katherine in shock and reels around, turning on Elena. Katherine wastes no time darting for the exit. Elena holds the piece up again as the woman rounds on her.

"My toys aren't being very fun today," the woman whines petulantly. Elena backs towards the exit, the piece of porcelain still raised. As fast as she possibly can, she squeezes herself into the hole. Her torso is all the way out when the woman grabs her ankle. Katherine comes to her side, tugging, as she is caught in a strange game of tug-a-war. Katherine gives a good yank and Elena spills out of the crypt. The woman does not follow them out.

"What…the…hell…was…_that_?" she gasps, collapsing onto the grass. Katherine lies down next to her, still bleeding quite profusely.

"I'm pretty sure that was Drusilla," she answers, examining her neck.

"You know her?"

"I know _of_ her," Katherine clarifies. "She's infamous; completely insane. She's like the Charlie Manson of vampires. This is good, though; Spike must be close. I've heard they used to be lovers."

Elena's face contorts in disgust, "Thank you very much for that mental picture. What happened?" she asks, reaching for her bag. She pulls out a blood bag for herself and tosses another one to Katherine.

Katherine eagerly pops off the cap and starts to drink. She comes up for air a moment later, her colour much improved. "I saw someone was living in the crypt," she explains. "I thought it might be Spike, so I went in. I was looking around, waiting for my eyes to adjust, and then she clocked me with one of those stone slabs. I came to when you started slapping me."

"You're welcome," Elena tells her tartly.

"You know, for someone who professes to hate it so much, you sure have a taste for this life." Katherine leans back on the grass, sipping from the blood bag and staring at the sky.

"I'm starting to see the perks I guess," Elena confesses, "But there's a lot more things I hate than things I love. The bloodlust, the guilt, the constant mood swings..."

"There's an easy fix for all of those. Flip the switch," Katherine remarks as if giving up one's humanity is nothing.

"And spend the rest of eternity on and off the guilt wagon like Stefan?" Elena spits. "No thank you."

"Stefan's all about the suffering. The rest of us eventually manage to reject the guilt and still keep the humanity perks. I do; Damon does it, too."

"I want this cure. I want to be human again," Elena states. "This life...it's nice, but it isn't real Katherine. It's like existing outside of everything else. We're part of this world but we're not really part of it. We just exist. I don't want to live this way. I want a real life."

Katherine leans over, propping herself up on one elbow and faces her doppelgänger. "Are you sure you could settle for an ordinary life? You have a taste for danger, you crave the thrill. Part of you always has, or you wouldn't have stuck around Damon and Stefan as long as you have."

Elena considers this for a moment, remembering Damon's words to her the first time they ever met. "_You want a love that consumes you. You want passion. An adventure. And even a little danger." _He was right of course. But things have changed since then. She's not sixteen years old anymore. In the last two years she has had her share of danger, hell, mere minutes after he told her that her parent's car went hurling off Wickery Bridge. She's had passion too, and plenty adventure. Is it so much to ask for a great love _and_ some measure of peace?

"All Damon wants is to love you for eternity," Katherine continues, "Plenty of women would kill for that."

"Or he could love me for a lifetime," Elena counters. "Since when is that not long enough?"

"He's a vampire, Elena. He's lived enough of them to know they're gone in an instant. A human lifetime is just a blimp on the map of time."

"What if he turned back with me?"

"Even if it is possible, I think we both know it would never make him happy."

"Maybe it could," Elena protests, more hope than certainty in her voice.

Katherine shakes her head. "You're so young. You don't understand yet; you can't change a man. Do you have any idea how hard mortality would be for someone who has been 24 years old for almost two centuries? He'd turn back for you, no question, but can you live with yourself when it makes him miserable? Because an ordinary life in ordinary town with an ordinary family are never going to be enough for him, Elena. It wasn't in 1864 and it's not going to be now. Don't go thinking he'll change who he is just because it's you who's asking."

"He's changing on his own," Elena insists, "Just since I first knew him, he's come so far. He wants to be better."

Katherine sits up, tossing the empty blood bag aside. "He's trying to be better because he doesn't think he deserves you. It's not out of some deep moral desire to be a good person. What he does, he does for you and only for you. He will put himself through hell trying to make you happy, but what happens when you're not enough anymore?"

"Since when do you care?" Elena accuses bitterly.

"I'm feeling...sentimental. You can say it's the blood loss talking, but I care about Damon, alright? I know I've made him miserable and I don't regret that, but he is owed some measure of happiness. And he's not going to get it as a human."

"You don't know that. Don't you think after two centuries of him and Stefan hating each other he deserves to have a real family?"

"You really think Damon is father material?" Katherine snorts, "The man has spent the better part of two centuries partying. Do you really think he's suddenly going to want to settle down and wipe snotty noses and change dirty diapers and worry about PTA meetings? No."

"He could be a good father, if he wanted to be."

"Do you really think he wants to be? I sure as hell don't."

"_You_ were a mother," Elena points out.

"No. I gave birth. It doesn't make me a mother. I'm no different from Isobel in that respect."

"Did you want to be, though?" She asks softly.

"It doesn't matter," Katherine says, shrugging her off, "It's been hundreds of years; my daughter is dead. Her children, her children's children, all of them are dead. As far as I know, you're all that's left." She looks up at the sky. "C'mon, we'd better get to Highgate before dark. I want to be as far from here as possible when the Queen of the Damned emerges." She offers Elena a hand up. Elena regards it for a moment, then takes her hand, letting Katherine pull her up.

"I'm telling you this for your benefit, and Damon's," Katherine continues as they walk out of the cemetery. "If you really want to take that cure, you're going to have to make a choice. And that is whether or not you and Damon really belong together. Because believe it or not, you can't have it both ways. You can have your normal little human life with a career and kids and all that. Or you can have Damon. Trying to have both is going to end badly for everyone."

* * *

The paths at Highgate are rivers of mud. Katherine makes a sound of disgust as her Jimmy Choo's sink into the ground. "What kind of vampire still lives in a crypt?" She whines, "I mean seriously, it's the 21st century."

"How do you think we should do this?" Elena asks, looking over the map they were handed at the entrance. "We have a lot of ground to cover before dark and I don't think we should split up again."

"I have an idea," Katherine announces, marching towards the centre of the cemetery. "Spike!" she yells at the top of her lungs. A few tourists look up with harried expressions and continue on, whispering about the rudeness of young people.

"Katherine, what do you think you're going to accomplish?" Elena hisses. "He probably can't come out during the day."

"I know. But if he knows we're looking for him, he might at least lurk in the shade where we can spot him. Of all the days for London to actually be sunny... Spike!" she yells again. "C'mon, let's start on the East Side, more crypts." Elena trots after her, shaking her head in disbelief.

Much to Elena's disbelief, the vampires round a corner and spot a man with platinum blond hair in a black trench coat leaning casually against a tree.

"What is it with these vampires and trench coats?" Elena mutters as they head towards him.

"Spike?" Katherine asks.

"And who might you be?" he asks, pushing himself off the tree and coming to stand full tilt, sizing them up. "I don't recall putting out an advert for twins."

"I'm Katherine Pierce," Katherine responds. "This is Elena Gilbert."

Spike raises his eyebrows. "Katherine Pierce? I've heard of you. Aren't you supposed to be dead?"

"Depends on who you ask," Katherine retorts. "I just ran into your ex at Nunhead. That was a real treat."

"You mean Dru?"

"Yeah, has anyone ever told you that she is 'lock up in the attic and hope she doesn't burn the house down' kind of crazy? The bitch strung me up and tried to bleed me out."

"That's what happens when you skulk around cemeteries making a bloody racket. I've half a mind to do it myself." Spike retorts. "What were you doing at Nunhead in the first place?"

"I've been looking for you."

"Why?" He asks nastily.

Katherine continues, ignoring him. "Stefan Salvatore sent me to Sunnydale. Did you know the whole town's been condemned?"

Spike lets out a knowing laugh. "Well I did make a rather…memorable exit. How is Stefan? Haven't seen him in years."

"Boring," Katherine says sighing, "He's gotten all…pious."

"He's the not only one. Seems to be the way forward for vamps these days. So, if I may ask, what brings you half way around the world, hollering in my cemetery?"

"I heard you know a witch," Katherine answers with conviction.

Spike eyes her dubiously, "You didn't come all the way here for that did you?"

"So you do know a witch?" Katherine counters carefully.

"I know several witches," Spike replies offhandedly. "They're rather a dime a dozen round here. There's a lovely one near London Bridge who thinks she's Anne Boleyn."

"Anne Boleyn was a witch?" Elena interjects.

"God no," Katherine says, turning to her. "She did have killer style though."

"Beheaded monarchs aside," Spike continues. "What do you want with this yet un-named witch?"

"We're looking for Willow Rosenberg," Elena butts in bluntly, tired of this game. "Angel sent us. He told me you could help."

"Angel sent you?" Spike shakes his head in annoyance. "You know, that is just like the bloody wanker," he rants, reminding Elena a little of Damon when he's complaining about Katherine. "He decides to get all broody, 'I work alone now, 'I don't need you anymore Spike.' Haven't heard from him in years even though I sent him a nice Christmas basket, then he up and sends me a set of vampire twins on a—"

"For the record, we're not twins; we're doppelgangers," Katherine interrupts his complaining. "We need help. Have you ever heard of a vampire called Klaus?"

"Of course I have. He's like the Dracula of your kind, isn't he?"

"Dracula _is_ one of our kind," Katherine corrects, rolling her eyes.

"Is he? Whatever he is, the bastard owes me twenty quid."

"I heard it was eleven."

"Inflation."

"Listen to me," Elena continues harshly, annoyed by their banter, "Klaus is trying to find a way to create an army of vampire/werewolf hybrids and he is getting very close. Do you want that to happen?"

Spike shakes his head, looking up at the sky. "You know for once, I would like to see some pouncy tosser without a superiority complex try to build an army. Is that really so much to ask?"

He looks from one girl to the other but both girls are quiet, unsure what to say. "Yeah I thought so," he adds.

Elena sighs and thinks of a new approach. "Can you just tell us where to find Willow?" she asks in a softer tone.

"I can," he answers with a slight nod. "But the Slayer will have us both dusted before you can so much as wince. You tell me exactly what you want, and I'd be willing to go fetch her. Can't bring you with me, though."

"Why not?"

"Top secret. Besides, she's with the Slayer; you're vampires. You see how this could potentially end for you?"

"You're a vampire," Elena points out.

"I have immunity."

"How long will it take?" Katherine questions, frustrated. "We don't a lot of time."

"Hey, I'm doing you a favour here," Spike snarls. "Risking my bloody neck going to Scotland for you. There's a bloke in Inverness who will hang me by my ankles over Loch Ness again if I don't pay him the kittens I owe him."

Elena looks from Katherine to Spike. "What?" she asks, completely befuddled.

Katherine seems to understand his gibberish though. "Avoid Inverness then," she orders sternly.

"Look, we are on an 'if we don't hurry, people will die' kind of schedule," Elena explains. "The quicker, the better."

"It'll be a few days I expect. Those handy daylight rings of yours won't work on my kind. There was one, but Angel had to go and destroy it. Idiot." He nods towards the crypt behind him. "Why don't you come in and tell me the whole story? Because if I arrive without a detailed explanation, I'm going wind up on the wrong end of the Slayer's favourite stake. And not in a good way either."

Elena follows him into the crypt, trying to think of how one could wind up at the end of the Slayer's stake in a good way. The crypt is slightly better lit than Drusilla's, though it is still rather disgusting. They take turns telling him everything they know and Spike listens carefully, occasionally interjecting a 'bloody morons' or 'what a nob.'

"It'll be best if you lie low here in London for a few days," he suggests when they finish. "I'll be to Scotland and back as soon as I can. Why don't you meet me at London Bridge in three days?"

"What are we supposed to do for three days?" Elena cries. "Our friends could be dead by then!"

"I don't know," Spike sneers. "Do some sightseeing. Take in a show. I hear the tours at Westminster are lovely. I can't move any quicker than that, and it's the only way I can get in touch with Willow."

"Can't you people get cell phones like everyone else?" Katherine complains. "You're a vampire, not a Neanderthal."

"We're vampires love. What's a creature of the night need with a bunch of sodding ringing contraptions?" Spike trails off, peeking outside. "It's dark, I'll leave now. London Bridge. Three days." He points at them to show he means business, and then he is gone.

After compelling themselves a room in central London, Elena settles in and tries calling Damon and Caroline again. Their phones both go straight to voicemail. Frustrated, she tries Jeremy, Stefan, Bonnie and Matt, again to no avail. Finally, she gives up and walks into the shared room of the suite. Katherine is staring out at the city, a bottle of vodka in her hand.

"I don't know how I'm going to stand sitting around for the next three days," Elena tells her. "I can't get a hold of anyone at all. I'm seriously worried."

"We're just going to have to sit tight and hope it works out," Katherine says, taking a swig of vodka and offering it to Elena. "I contemplated following Spike, but he's too smart for that."

Elena takes a swig from the bottle eagerly, enjoying the warmth it brings to her veins. She perches herself on the sofa and takes another swig. "I like this so much better than scotch," she comments.

"After a while it's all the same really," Katherine declares, taking the bottle from her and sinking into the chair across from her. "Alcohol is alcohol."

"Katherine, what do you know about blood sharing?" Elena asks, contemplating.

Katherine regards her, slightly puzzled. "Between vampires?" she asks.

"Yeah."

"Why do you ask?"

"Just curious. I was thinking about how cagey Damon was when I talked to him the other day and I remembered how he and Stefan were suspiciously vague on the subject of blood sharing. I was just wondered if there was a reason."

"That's a random thing ask about, Elena. It's not exactly a common practice."

"Why? I mean we feed off of humans all the time. And sometimes they drink our blood too."

"It's different. When we feed off of humans, the vast majority of the time, it isn't on their own volition."

"Mikael did it to Stefan that one time."

"Yeah but that situation was really strange. It works differently for us than I think it works for Originals. For us, it's a sire thing; the vampire who turned you has to willingly offer their blood. Otherwise, it's like being hungry and drinking a glass of water. It's not going to do much." Katherine takes a swig from the bottle. "Even if you haven't sired someone, though, the gesture of allowing them to drink from you is very intimate."

"More intimate than sex?" Elena questions, thinking that this a good deal, more than just 'personal.'

"When you have sex, you offer up your body to someone," Katherine explains, "But if you blood share with a vampire you've turned, you're literally surrendering your life force to them. If they want to, they can feed until it kills you. That level of trust transcends sex. It's supposed to be positively euphoric."

Elena understands now why Stefan punched Damon in the face. In fact, she's surprised that's all he did. She remembers the euphoria, the coolness of his skin on her mouth, the steady beat of his pulse. Damon never said a word about it to her, though, and Stefan never mentioned it again after he reprimanded her. She only knows about the punching because of Caroline's big mouth. She swirls the bottle of vodka absently. It figures they never told her the details.

"Have you done it?" she presses curiously, handing the bottle over to Katherine.

"No. Damon and Stefan drank from me, but only while they were still human. There is not a vampire on this earth I would let feed on me, even if they couldn't kill me. And I certainly never wanted or needed to feed off Rose." She takes a giant gulp and pauses for a moment before continuing. "As vampires we don't have a whole lot of etiquette. That's kind of the point, but when it comes to feeding off each other, there are rules. You don't do it with just anyone, and you certainly don't do it by force. What Mikael did to Stefan was about as rude as crapping in someone's living room. I can only think of a handful of vampires I know who have blood shared at all; that kind of trust is really rare."

"So your sire has to willingly offer their blood to you, but if they do, you can kill them?"

"Only if you don't stop drinking; it's like drinking from a human, but it's supposed to have more rejuvenating qualities. Why are you so curious anyways?"

"No reason."

Katherine eyes her. "You drank from Damon, didn't you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Elena mutters, reaching for the bottle. Katherine holds it away from her.

"Why would he let you do that?" she questions.

Elena grabs for the bottle but Katherine manages to keep it away from her, sloshing a bit onto the carpet. Elena gives up and sits back down. "Fine," she sighs in defeat. "I did. Happy? It's kind of how we figured out there was a sire bond. He was on this kick about how I needed human blood from the vein, so of course everything else I tried, I just threw up. We were just trying to find some blood I could keep down."

"And you couldn't keep his down either?" Katherine surrenders the bottle back, now that she has confessed.

Elena gratefully takes a swig. "No," she answers quietly. "I probably could now. As soon as we figured out what was happening, Damon corrected it, and I was able to drink from blood bags." She takes another swig and passes the bottle back to Katherine, slumping back into the couch. "I hate this sire bond," she admits, "I hate the idea that my body would starve itself over an offhanded comment of Damon's. This is my body; I'm the one who should be in control of it."

"If you're saying that," Katherine begins, "It's a good sign. It means it's weakening." Katherine takes the bottle away from her, swishing it around she contemplates. "Kind of fascinating though," she remarks, "That the sire bond contradicted itself. He wanted you to drink from him, but his insistence you needed human blood overrode your capacity to handle it."

"Call it what you want. My term is 'a total pain in the ass.'"

Katherine sits up, putting the bottle on the coffee table. "C'mon. We need to take our mind off things. I have an idea."

"What is it?" Elena asks warily.

"I know a great club in Shoreditch. It'll be fun."

Elena eyes her cautiously. "Your idea of fun or my idea of fun?"

"Come on," Katherine insists. "You cannot possibly be this boring." Elena shrugs and grabs for the vodka bottle.

"Alright, fine. Let me change. But no killing people. Understand?"

Katherine pouts. "I'll make you a deal. If you come with me and don't be a total drag, I won't kill anyone…tonight."

Elena trudges into her room, trying to think of something to wear."I can live with that," she calls over her shoulder.

* * *

The club Katherine drags her to is crowded, even for the middle of the week. The drinking age is eighteen, so Elena doesn't even have to compel herself into the club. They make their way downstairs to a smaller room with thousands of brightly coloured light bulbs on the ceiling.

"You're right, this is pretty cool," she comments to Katherine as they shove their way towards the bar for drinks.

"I told you!" Katherine exclaims as she puts a few martinis on someone else's tab. "You just need to learn how to not mope." She turns to Elena with a wide smile and raises her glass. "To another day of survival!" She exclaims. Elena follows suit. "Cheers," she breathes, clinking their glasses together.

Elena can't help but enjoy herself a little; it feels good to dance, to laugh, to have people admire her. She finds herself moving from room to room, sometimes dancing with Katherine, sometimes with others. The music calms her, makes her feel alive for the first time in weeks. The urge to feed is strong, but she bites it back, not wanting to hurt anyone. She knows Katherine is feeding, but so far as Elena can tell, she's kept her promise not to actually kill anyone.

Elena is in one of the back rooms, dancing with a group of people, when she spots him in the corner, coming towards her. He's surrounded by people, but there is no mistaking the messy brown hair, the sadistic smirk, or the fear he incites whether she is human or vampire.

It's Kol.

Elena tries to push her way out of the crowd, moving the opposite direction. People cry out, spilling their drinks as she pushes them aside but she doesn't stop moving. Frantically she scans the room, trying to spot Katherine in the whirl of colour and noise.

Just as she finally finds her, leaning on her elbows against the bar and flirting with the bartender, she is hit with a wave of unbearable pain. Unable to keep herself upright any longer, she falls to her knees. Just out of the corner of her eye, she sees Katherine go down as well. Then everything goes dark.

End of Part I

**A/N: Special thank you to my Beta reader, SkyeVenomatic and to all of you who have read and reviewed so far. Chapter Six is coming soon! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Part II**

**Chapter Six**

When Elena comes to, she feels nothing but a constant, stinging pain. Everything is pitch black. Biting back tears, she tries to move. Pain shoots through her as her body touches hard walls. Panicking, she continues to struggle anyways, beating her hands and feet against whatever holds her, only to realize they are bound with something burning into her flesh. She sniffs. _Vervain_. Her hands and feet are bound with something soaked in vervain.

Sobbing now, she screams, but no one answers. She takes shallow breaths, trying to kick out the end of whatever holds her, but it is heavily reinforced; she only causes herself more pain.. After a few moments, when she can no longer stand it, she stops struggling.

It is so tempting to flip the switch. Turn off her humanity. Lose her sense of fear. But she thinks of her brother, of Damon and Stefan and Caroline. They are the only family she has left anymore. What happens if she escapes only to find herself a monster?

She counts to ten, then takes a slow deep breath. _I'll count to sixty, one hundred and twenty times_, she thinks. _I'll count the minutes and if I'm still here in two hours, I'll turn it off._ She counts until she loses consciousness again.

When she wakes again, she hears the gentle hum of an engine; she's in a moving vehicle. She deciphers the sound of a radio playing, but the language is foreign. She shouts and bangs her feet a few times against the end of the container, biting back the pain, but no one responds. She's hungry, so hungry... she isn't sure how long it has been since she last fed. She wonders if Katherine sold her out; she is quite sure she went down as well, but the last moments in the club are hazy. Kol must have used a witch to incapacitate her.

There's a thud and the car stops moving. A few doors slam and then footsteps grow closer. She recognizes Kol's voice, but he isn't speaking English.

"Let me out, Kol!" she yells making as much noise as she can.

"Shut up!" Kol snarls. Whatever she is being held in shifts; she is being carried somewhere. A few minutes later, someone finally lifts up the lid. Elena blinks at the sudden light and finds herself face to face with Klaus, his dark brown eyes boring into her with amusement.

"Elena," he purrs sarcastically, lifting her out of the box and setting her down on the stone floor, "how nice of you to join us." She's in a large room, walled with stone, there are no windows, no furniture, but a number of weapons hang on the walls.

Next to her, Katherine is seated as well. She is sulking, her hands and feet bound. She holds her head high, trying not to look like she's been defeated.

Klaus regards them as if he can't believe his luck, as if they strolled into whatever this place is on their own accord. But beneath his amused expression, there is a surging undertone of real anger, thinly veiled in the twist of his mouth. Elena can tell this is a planned and calculated retaliation.

Her eyes dart around the room, looking for a way out. Kol is leaning against the only door, conversing with another vampire in a language she can't quite pinpoint. In the corner, there is a dark haired woman sitting cross legged on the floor, studying a book open in front of her. Elena is so incredibly hungry that her senses feel even more heighted; she can smell the girl's human blood even from across the room.

"How do you know which one is which?" Kol asks Klaus, interpreting her thoughts.

Klaus strolls over to Elena, grinning. "This is Elena," he answers. "Bring up Stefan and Damon and I'll show you."

"No..." Elena gasps desperately. Kol nods his head towards another vampire standing by the door and the two of them leave the room. Klaus smirks in response. It is all Elena can to do not crumple in defeat. Even if she and Katherine failed, she had hoped that her Salvatores would come through. But if Klaus has all of them, there's nothing left to be done. Even if Spike does return to London Bridge with Willow and the Slayer, he will come up empty, unable to find them.

"What have you done with them? Where is my brother?" She demands, confirming to Klaus that she is indeed, Elena. She can't bring herself to care, though; all she wants is to know brother is safe. She throws a glare at Katherine, wondering if she really did give them up.

"There's no need to blame her, Elena," Klaus remarks, laughing lightly, "For once you're the one who betrayed _her_."

"What?" Elena blinks in confusion, "I don't understand."

"You told Caroline you were on the next flight to London. It was nothing to compel it out of her. Unfortunately she didn't know very much, but Matt was able to lead me to the rest of your boys and I was able to fill in the gaps from there."

"What have you done to them?" Elena asks through gritted teeth. "Let Jeremy go. This doesn't concern him.

"Ah, but we both know that to be untrue, wouldn't you agree? I would have never found the cure without him. And if I could have, he serves as such useful collateral, doesn't he?" He pauses for a moment, letting his taunting words sink in. "There's no need to look so glum, Elena. You're getting exactly what you wanted."

"This is not what I wanted." Elena spits through gritted teeth.

Klaus ignores her. "Tell me Elena, did you find your witch?" he asks.

"No," she replies firmly.

Klaus comes closer, leering inches from her face. "The vervain my idiot brother bound you with is preventing me from compelling your right now. But let me assure you, this conversation is not over."

He pats her cheek affectionately. Elena opens her mouth, trying to bite his hand, but he only laughs. "I see we've gained a backbone on our little adventure."

Elena's eyes fly to the door as it creaks open. Stefan stumbles through first, eyes downcast, hands bound behind him. Klaus's minion walks behind him, prodding him. Damon follows, bound similarly, Kol's hands on his shoulders. She's never seen either of them so unkempt before; both are dirty, their clothes tattered and covered in bloodstains. She recognizes the wild look in Stefan's eyes; he hasn't fed on anything—animal or otherwise—in days.

Kol and the other vampire force them to kneel, so they are facing Elena and Katherine, with Klaus pacing between the four of them.

"Excellent," Klaus states, observing the strange group he has assembled. "Now that everyone is here—" He abruptly strolls over to Damon and plunges his hand into his chest, grasping his heart. Elena gasps for air, doubling over in pain. Klaus releases Damon and pulls out his bloodied hand, smirking.

"That one is most definitely Elena," he tells Kol, motioning his head towards her. He snaps his fingers at his vampire lackey, who brings him a towel. "The sire bond does the most peculiar things. It's quite fascinating really," he explains coolly, drying his hands.

Elena tries to catch her breath. Across from her, Damon remains upright only by Kol's firm grasp. His eyes meet hers and he tries to look reassuring but Elena can tell that he can't see any way out of this either.

"So," Klaus finishes drying his hands and tosses the towel back to his lackey. "We seem to be at a crossroads. I have two doppelgangers, two Salvatores, and a cure for vampirism that will only work for two vampires. But the question is, which two?" He turns to Elena and Katherine. Elena looks to Katherine who narrows her eyes in anger but neither girl says anything. "Well one of the two of you will have to take it," Klaus continues, "But which one? Suggestions?"

When neither girl speaks, Klaus turns on his heels to face the Salvatore brothers, and his eyes fall on Stefan. "_Ste-fan_," he calls, drawing out the syllables as if they are amicably drinking at a bar together, "I believe you should have the honour of picking an estranged lover. Either one will do."

Stefan glares at him with dark eyes filled with a mix of rage and wild hunger.

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way, Stefan. You can answer me on your own volition. Or I run you through a few times with that sword," he gestures to a particularly lethal looking sword hanging on the wall behind them, "and then compel you to answer me. Either way you're going to answer me."

Stefan's eyes flick from Elena to Katherine. "Elena," he rasps hurriedly, "It should be Elena."

Klaus shrugs. "No surprises there I suppose. Damon? Pick a girlfriend please."

Damon does not hesitate for a second, even though he is still grimacing in pain.

"Katherine," he utters clearly. "Take Katherine."

Elena's brow furrows in confusion. What happened to _"I will always choose you?"_ Hadn't he wanted to find her a cure, hadn't he told her he didn't want her to suffer anymore? Was everything they shared a lie? Some messed up way of holding onto Katherine that he would only now, in this moment, admit? She manages at look at Katherine who merely rolls her eyes.

Klaus doesn't seem surprised at his choice either. "One of you always has to play the hero," He laughs wearily, "Well it's nice to know there are some things in life you can absolutely depend on." He turns to Elena. "You see Elena, Damon cannot bear the thought of you having to live out what is left of your miserable existence as a human blood bag with the guilt of knowing that your blood is helping me create my army. He thinks that picking Katherine is sparing you that."

Then it hits her; in his own, strange, Damon logic, Damon _is_ choosing her. He doesn't want her to take it so she can live, even if she is undead.

"Unfortunately for Damon," Klaus continues, "I really only wanted to satisfy my curiosity. You see," he explains, "regardless of the sire bond, the blood of a vampire's sire is a powerful thing. In order to administer the cure, the vampire in question needs to drink the blood of the vampire who turned them. Even if I wanted to turn Katherine back, which let's be honest, would not be nearly as much fun, her sire is dead."

Klaus leans down next to Elena, his face inches from hers. His breath smells of blood and spearmint gum. "You're going to take the cure Elena. You can take it willingly like a good girl, or I can force you. The choice is up to you." He gestures to Stefan and Damon. "I still, however, have one more question to settle before we proceed. Both of them have proven they are willing to die for you, I wonder, is either of them willing to live for you?"

Elena realizes his intent slowly. "No..." she lets out softly in disbelief.

"You have got to be kidding me," Katherine comments dryly.

"I warned you not to cross me," Klaus reminds them evenly. "Do you remember what happened last time when I forced Stefan to bite you? Consider that a warm up exercise. Pick a Salvatore."

"No," she says firmly. Klaus grabs her by the hair and tilts her head back. His jocular facade is gone, leaving only the seething, boiling rage.

"You have one minute to pick a brother Elena. Otherwise I will pick one for you. Then I will kill the other one. Then I will kill Katherine and Jeremy and Tyler. I will even kill Caroline. I will then go to Mystic Falls and I will kill Matt and Bonnie and everyone else you have ever cared about, spoken to or so much as glanced at. I will massacre the entire town and I will do it all slowly and painfully while you remain alive, providing me blood and whatever else I need as long as I consider you useful. Do I make myself clear?"

He releases her hair and she nods, tears stinging her eyes with the undoubting knowledge that there is no bluff to call. There is nothing left to stop him. She can't bring herself to look at either Salvatore.

She knows who she wants. But she doesn't know if she can bring herself to utter it.

Damon manages to catch her eye anyways and he shakes his head no, his eyes pleading with her not to do this. Elena bites back tears. She knows now what Lorne meant about what she wanted coming with a high price. The pain eats at her. She knows what she wants; she knows _who _she wants. If she has to pick a brother to live out whatever is left of her life with, she doesn't have a doubt in her mind which one it is. But he shakes his head again.

Stefan's name is on the tip of her tongue. Whether she wants it or not the sire bond is working its will. Stefan gazes at her, neither pleading nor angry, but lovingly. Elena looks back at him and her heart breaks; in this moment, she truly realizes just how much she has already broken his. Still, she can't bring herself to pick him either; he wants a life with her she can't give him anymore. Choosing him would be a cruel fate.

The alternative is just as horrible, despite how much she wants this life with Damon, Katherine's words echo in her head.

_"An ordinary life in ordinary town with an ordinary family are never going to be enough for him, Elena. It wasn't in 1864 and it's not going to be now." _

He absolutely does not want is no right choice. No matter which one she chooses, one or both of them are going to hate her for it.

She bites her tongue, doubling over in pain as the sire bond tries to make her choice for her. It is unbearable and her vision blurs. She can hear Katherine cry out, a scuffle as one of the boys tries to get to her. Klaus grabs her by the shoulders and shakes her.

"What is wrong with you?" he shouts. Elena raises her head. Suddenly everything is clear; she feels a thousand times lighter, than she has since she turned. Damon is lying on the floor with Kol's foot on his back, Stefan is struggling, held back by his designated lackey. Even Katherine is straining against her vervain binding.

"She just broke the sire bond," Katherine announces quietly, a little bit of awe in her voice.

They all sit for a moment in shock before Klaus recovers. "Let's test it, shall we?" he suggests.

He motions for Kol to lift Damon up again. Elena cries out in shock and anger as Klaus plunges his hand once again into his chest but it no longer affects her physically. Klaus lets him go and motions for another towel. "Isn't that fortuitous?" he quips, drying his hands. "Tell me Elena. Now that you're deciding with your full faculties which brother will it be?"

Elena looks around the room, taking in everything clearly. "Neither," she pleads, frightened for this potential future. "Don't make them do this. They don't want this. I don't want this."

"That would be the point. I am losing patience with you, Elena. You have ten seconds before I pick one for you and the other one gets their heart ripped out."

There is no right choice to make, but at least the one she makes, she knows with every fibre of her being—is her own. Her eyes fall on Damon; his eyes are glassy, barely able to focus on her. He is barely conscious at this point, were Kol not holding him upright, he would most certainly collapse. "I pick Damon," she states evenly, giving Klaus the most withering look she can muster.

Stefan remains impassive, as if he were resigned to this; Damon brings his eyes to hers and asking only one question. _Why?_

Klaus wastes no time however. "See, that wasn't so hard was it?" He nods to Kol and the other vampire, "Kol, Marco, take Stefan and Katherine downstairs, please. I don't need them at the moment."

Kol lets Damon collapse unceremoniously to the floor. Elena can't tell if he is unconscious or just unable to move. Kol strolls over to Katherine, hauling her to her feet, the other vampire, Marco, does the same with Stefan. Stefan fixes his eyes on the floor, not meeting hers, but Katherine fixes her with a warning glance as the other vampire hoists her over his shoulder and carries her out. Then they are gone, the door slamming behind them.

Klaus grabs Damon by the neck and lifts him to his feet. "Congratulations, Damon. For once in your miserable excuse for a life, someone actually picked you."

Damon lets out a harsh, rattling laugh. "Only took me a hundred and seventy years," he quips. "You're what, a thousand and something, and still waiting? What's your excuse?" Damon keeps his expression stalwart, defiant, but his eyes frighten her. She's never seen him look quite this way before, deep down, he is running scared.

Klaus ignores him and turns to the woman in the corner. "Are you ready love?"

"Absolutely," she replies, shutting the book she's been concentrating intently on this entire time. She comes over and stands in front of Elena. She is so hungry her fangs burst out at the scent of her blood. The woman doesn't even blink, just regards her clinically.

"It shouldn't take much to fix her up, should it?" she asks Klaus, her accent indicating she is definitely American. Elena senses something decidedly off about her; there's a sinister twist in the corner of her mouth, a thirst for power in her eyes.

Klaus actually looks puzzled by her question. "Why would I want to do that?"

"I've been looking at the spell and I think the better condition she's in, the less likely it'll kill her."

"I can get her fixed up." He tugs Damon by the neck. "This one is going to take a little longer, though."

"Let's get them upstairs then," she replies. "We can at least get started with her while he recovers." Klaus nods to one of his lackeys who grasps Elena and pulls her to her feet. The witch undoes the vervain ropes binding her feet so she can walk. Elena aims a kick at her, but she dodges it easily.

The four of them and the witch make their way out of the room, into a large hallway, still with stone walls. One set of stairs leads upwards, another leads down. Elena struggles against the lackey as he shoves her towards the stairs, but he keeps a firm grip on her. Ahead of her, Damon barely stumbles along with the help of Klaus.

"Where are we?" Elena asks.

"That is need to know information," Klaus replies, "And let me assure you, you do not need to know."

A door opens and they are shoved into a doctor's office of sorts. There are a few hospital beds, a number of strange machines. A human is standing by the sink washing his hands.

Elena and Damon are pushed onto the bed so they are sitting next to each other. Damon's head lolls toward her, resting on her shoulder. She wants to say something, but she isn't sure what. And whatever it is she needs to say, she doesn't want to do it with an audience. Klaus and the human speak rapidly in a language she can't place.

"They're speaking Italian," Damon mutters under his breath. Elena feels her breath catch in surprise at his coherence. "They're trying to figure out the best way to make sure you're in peak condition before they give you the cure." He pauses a moment, listening, then continues, "Klaus is mad at Kol for binding you guys with vervain ropes; it's rubbed into your skin and he can't compel you until it wears off."

Klaus finally finishes his conversation, most likely because he can hear Damon translating.

"Elena, I'm unbinding your hands," Klaus instructs, "I can't compel you yet, but you're going to behave, because if you don't, I will take it out on Damon. And if that isn't enough for you, your poor little brother will suffer instead. Is that clear?"

"Crystal," Elena seethes.

The human comes forward and unbinds the ropes on her hands. Elena lays one of her hands on Damon's. Klaus hands her a blood bag which she takes in her other hand and drinks eagerly. Consulting with the human—that Elena assumes must be a doctor— they examine the rope burn on her hands and feet which are healing rapidly now that she is drinking blood.

"What do you think?" Klaus asks the witch.

She examines Elena's wrists carefully. "She should be alright."

"Does he have to offer her the blood willingly?" he questions.

The witch shakes her head. "The sire's blood itself should be enough. As long as she drinks while I say the spell and then she drinks the cure, it should be fine."

"Excellent." Klaus unbinds Damon's hands and holds his wrist out to Elena.

"Do we have to do this with an audience?" Elena snipes.

"Just drink it," Klaus growls.

"It's okay, Elena," Damon assures her softly. "Drink."

"Damon..." she says softly. "Katherine told me what this means." She feels like everything she needs to say is in that sentence.

"It's okay," he tells her reassuringly, "I want you to."

Klaus laughs. "Isn't that nice? He's hoping you'll kill him."

The tender look he gives her, though, tells her the opposite; this is his way of saying he forgives her. She keeps her eyes locked on his as she takes his wrist in both hands and bites down. The witch starts chanting something, but Elena can barely hear her. This time she wants this too and his blood is incredible. He brings his free hand up, cupping the back of her neck gently and she presses herself closer to him, knowing she could never get enough.

"Easy there," Klaus advises, pulling her off him. Elena blinks dazedly, but before she knows what is happening, they take Damon away. She tries to keep her eyes on him, but the lackey is hauling him out of the room in moments. Klaus barks an order at the doctor and looks into her eyes, his pupils dilating.

"Elena, you're going drink this cure, and you're not going to resist," Klaus instructs her. With Damon's blood in her system, her wounds have healed and the vervain has worn off, leaving her powerless to resist his compulsion.

The witch starts chanting again, and Klaus hands Elena a vial.

"Drink all of this," he commands her. Elena brings the vial to her lips, opens her mouth, and swallows the bittersweet cure.

The room starts to spin until all the colors melt away into a dark haze. Klaus helps her lie down on the bed. The witch comes to stand over her, strange words spilling from her lips.

A first, nothing happens, but then her veins begin to pulse. Bright colours dance before her eyes, making her head ache. She feels as if she is on fire. She loses all her sense of the room around her; she no longer hears the chanting, and the colours disappear. There is only blackness and biting, stinging pain.

For a while she tries to focus, thinking of things that give her peace; her mother, her favourite sweatshirt, the smell of Damon's shampoo. But then the pain takes over and she can focus on nothing else. It goes on and on and on and on. She loses all sense of time, of anything but the burning pain.

Her heart beats faster and faster. It excels to a pace she is sure no human or vampire can handle. Her muscles spasm. She can barely retain her ability to breathe. At some point she is quite sure she stops altogether.

Then, suddenly, it seems everything slows; she can hear the faint beeping of a machine next to her, the occasional murmur of voices, never in English. She fades in and out of consciousness. Her head aches, her throat burns. The fuzziness begins to clear and her eyes begin to focus.

Her mouth feels dry, her throat burns even worse, but it is not blood she craves.

"Water," she rasps. Someone brings water to her lips, again and again until she is sated. This time, she falls into a deep sleep.

* * *

Elena wakes to the faint beeping of machines. Slowly, she opens her eyes; she is in the same room she remembers from before. Only now, she is wearing normal pyjamas. A variety of tubes are sticking out of her arms. She feels different. The burning in the back of her throat that haunted her for months is gone; she feels a calming warmth from her fingers and toes. Nothing is too loud or too bright. Her nose itches and for the first time in months, she sneezes. She knows it is selfish, that this has come at a high cost. This is _not_ a gift. She can't help it though. She smiles.

The doctor comes forward, speaking in rapidly in Italian, but she merely gapes, not understanding. He helps her sit up and hands her water, which she sucks down eagerly. For months she has choked down normal food and water, even though it brought her little taste. Now the water tastes sweet, clear.

"Hungry?" the doctor asks her in broken English. He is an older man with kind eyes. Elena feels for him; he probably doesn't want to be here anymore than she does.

Elena thinks for a moment, trying figure out whether or not she is hungry. She has forgotten what human hunger feels like. "Yes," she finally tells him. He nods and brings back a tray of food for her. It isn't much, just a few pieces of bread and some fruit.

"Slow," he advises. She nods, understanding her stomach is probably not equipped to keep much down. She chews slowly and carefully, enjoying the taste of food again. She eats until she is satisfied and stops, enjoying the pleasure of actually feeling full, one the bloodlust never really afforded to her.

"Thank you," she tells the doctor sincerely. He smiles widely in response. "What's your name?" she asks. He looks at her in confusion. Elena points to herself. "Elena," she announces.

He nods and points to himself. "Angelo Columbi."

Elena holds out her hand, "It is nice to meet you," she says. He nods, understanding.

"Aren't you charming?" Klaus oozes sarcastically from the doorway. Elena's pleasant expression falls. She turns to him, eager for answers.

"Where is Damon?" she asks, concerned that is he has not been in the room with her. "What have you done with my brother and Caroline and Stefan and Katherine? Where am I? What day is it?"

"So many demands, Elena. You've been out for a few weeks. It's the end of January."

"I've been out for a whole month!"

"You're looking better than Damon is."

"Let me see him. Please," she begs. "What have you done with all of them?"

"They're all alive, Elena. And they'll stay that way if you behave yourself." He leans closer to her, his pupils dilating. "Tell me, did you find your witch?" he questions, compelling her.

Elena thinks around his answer. Technically, they did not find the witch. "No," she replies. "I don't know where she is."

Klaus leans back, contemplating this. He has a preoccupied furrow in his brow; Elena wonders what he is up to. She hopes he phrased his question the same to Katherine and she replied the same. Klaus must be satisfied with her answer because he motions to Dr. Columbi.

"I'm going to translate while the doctor examines you. You seem to be recovering well, but we want to make sure everything is on the up and up." He gives her a lingering glare. "You're going to behave."

Elena obediently lets them weigh and measure her, test her reflexes, her vision, and her hearing. Klaus translates constant questions about her health before she turned: did she ever have migraines, seizures, asthma, does she know the nature of the brain haemorrhage she had the night she was turned? She draws the line when he asks her about her menstrual cycle.

"I am not answering that," Elena rebuffs, crossing her arms. "It's none of your business."

Klaus sighs wearily. Even for a vampire, Elena observes that he looks a bit tired. "I assure you, Elena, I don't want to ask you these questions any more than you want to answer them. Just do it."

"Fine. My cycles were regular."

"And were you sexually active?"

"Are you kidding me?"

"I'll take that as a yes?"

"Why are you asking me questions you know the answer to?"

Klaus shrugs. "How would I know the answer to that? Unless you're insinuating you and I have that kind of a relationship." He lowers his voice conspiringly, "Just between us, I prefer blondes."

Elena remains defiant. "This is humiliating."

"I'm well aware of that. Answer the question or your brother is going to wish you had," Klaus threatens.

Elena scowls. "Fine. Yes. I was sexually active. And for the record, I hate you." She spits the last three words out with as much vehemence as she can muster.

"How many partners?"

"Two," she mutters.

Klaus arches an eyebrow. "Only two?"

"Yes," she seethes, picturing all the ways she could run him through with the broadsword hanging on the wall above her. It wouldn't kill him of course, but it would probably hurt quite a bit. The only thing holding her back is what he might do to Jeremy.

Klaus only ignores her anger and carries on with further about diet and exercise that are far less humiliating but personal none the less. Finally, they draw a sample of blood to test and put her back to bed.

Elena spends the next few days lying in bed, bored and worried. Klaus hasn't thought to provide her with any entertainment to speak of, leaving her with nothing to do but sit there and list all the ways she has ruined not only her own life, but everyone else's. Dr. Columbi checks on her regularly bringing food, clucking in Italian. She doesn't understand most of what he says, but she is glad for the company regardless.

Finally, Dr. Columbi declares her fit enough to take a few litres of blood. As she watches the dab of crimson begin to fill the bags, she is filled with a sense of familiarity. It feels like a life time ago since she last sat in this position, watching her blood seep from her body. It has only been a few months though; just a few months and she has reverted smack dab back to where she started the day she became a vampire.

After he finishes taking her blood, he gives her some supplements and puts her back to bed. She sleeps for awhile, and when she wakes, Klaus is standing over her.

"What do you want?" she asks groggily. "I've already given you my blood; what more could you possibly want from me?"

"Come now, Elena. Isn't this what you wanted? To be human again? Well now you've gotten your wish."

Elena just glares at him, not even bothering to sit up. "Seriously, what do you want?"

"I'm moving you to a different room. There's no need for you to be up here anymore. I thought you might be more comfortable in one of the bedrooms."

"Is this what it is going to be like?" she spits bitterly. "I'm just going to be your prisoner here forever?"

"Not forever, Elena. But for awhile longer yes. It won't be so bad. Come with me. And behave yourself," he adds. Elena sighs, and gets out of bed. She follows Klaus out of the room in her blue pyjamas. He leads her down a hall; she shudders as her bare feet hit the cold stone floors.

"What is this place?" she asks again.

"A fortress," Klaus responds vaguely. "I've had it re-outfitted over the years to suit my needs." He leads her down a set of stairs and up another. Finally, he comes to a stop in front of a door. One of the vampires from before stands guard in front of it and opens it for them.

"This will be your room while you're here," he tells her, gesturing she should enter. Elena looks around; it isn't a bad room. There's a four poster bed in the centre, flanked by two nightstands. A wardrobe stands in the corner. There's a small window looking out into the darkness, a bookshelf beneath it contains a few novels. Klaus opens the door to a small attached bathroom.

"There are clothes for you in the wardrobe and toiletries in the bathroom," he informs her. "You'll be brought food three times a day and someone will come once a week to take the laundry. You'll also be seeing Dr. Columbi again for a few checkups and more blood." He gestures to the bookshelf under the window. "If you run out of reading material, I have an extensive library. Tell me what you want and I will bring it up for you."

"Great. Thanks," Elena replies unenthusiastically, sitting down on the bed.

"I assure you, it is far more comfortable than your friends are experiencing downstairs," he tells her. Elena blanches.

"Can't I see them?" she pleads. "You say you're using them to keep me in line, but I don't even know you have them."

Klaus smirks and reaches into his pocket for his phone. "I thought you might ask for proof." He cues up a video and holds it out to her. Elena squints to see and then wishes she hadn't. It's Jeremy. He's lying on a filthy floor looking incredibly thin, exhausted and disgusting. He doesn't appear to have been tortured, though, which is more than she can say for the next one Klaus cues up of Stefan screaming.

"Stop it!" Elena screams. "Do what you want to me. Just let them go!"

"Now why would I get rid of such excellent leverage? I'll make you a deal. You behave, do what I ask, and I won't kill them."

"You don't have to do this!" she cries. "You could just compel me!"

"Well that wouldn't be much fun, would it now?" He looks into her eyes, his pupils dilating with compulsion. "I am going to have to ask that you do not try to harm yourself in any way or try to escape."

"I won't hurt myself or try to escape," Elena repeats. "Please, I am begging you. Let them go."

Klaus ignores her. "Have a good night, Elena. If you need anything, you can just stick your head out and ask Marco here. He'll be standing guard to make sure you don't try anything." He glances at his watch. "Dinner should be arriving for you soon."

"Klaus," she implores, "At least tell me, where is Damon? Is he alright?"

"Damon's dead." Klaus says, heartless with finality. He smirks at the shock on Elena's face. "Have a good night, Elena," Klaus repeats as he shuts the door.

Elena sinks to the floor, head in hands, pulling at her hair.

**A/N: Ok, I'm ready, go ahead and express your outrage. I want to thank you all for reading and send special thanks to SkyeVenomatic for the beta, this story is a thousand times better thanks to her. If you're interested, I just recently posted a series of one-shots titled A Short History of the Salvatore Boys, the one shots fit into this universe but they also work stand alone. Thanks again for reading! **


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

The next few days feel like the darkest of her short life. It is as if her parents died all over again, but instead of a houseful of guests and casseroles and stories of their lives, it is only her alone in this room. She understands now why people mourn together, because alone the pain is too much to cope with.

It feels like the whole world has just stopped, abandoning her alone. Damon promised her he would never leave her and yet, here she is, without him. Klaus does not return. Her only interaction is with Marco who brings her a plate of food three times a day and takes it away an hour later, barely touched. Every few days, one of the vampires takes her to Dr. Columbi who regards her sadly as he draws a few pints of blood and sends her on her way.

Slowly though, after days—maybe even weeks, she isn't sure—her pain begins to turn to anger and her anger turns to rage. She begins eating again and the more she eats, the stronger she feels. This never should have happened. None of this would have happened if it weren't for Klaus. She has always hated him, but now it hits her full force with a blinding sense of purpose. She will get them out of here and she will make Klaus suffer. She understands now how Stefan felt those few months when the only emotion he could manage to let in was hate. She embraces it and lets it consume her, giving her purpose once again. She has absolutely nothing left to lose anymore. She will get her family out of here or she will die trying.

Her room is not large, but every morning she begins a routine. Her transformation, her subsequent blood loss, and her grief have affected her. She has lost weight, lost even the strength to do more than a few push ups. But every day she tries for a few more. She remembers the training from Alaric and even though she doesn't have any real weapons or the space to run, she tries what she can. She improvises some kickboxing moves, tries poses she remembers from a yoga class she once took with Bonnie, runs in place, does sit ups, push ups, anything she can remember. And day by day she grows stronger.

Still, it is some time before she is able to formulate even a semblance of a plan. It is a blood drawing afternoon with Dr. Columbi when the idea occurs to her. Dr. Columbi smiles kindly at her as he removes the needle from her arm and places the blood bags in his usual box for Klaus. Today however, Elena notices he has drawn an extra bag more he usually does. It sits on the table, a beautiful shade of crimson, ready to be packed away. As his back is turned, getting her the iron supplement she has to take, she considers this. Based on what Klaus showed her in the video, she's quite sure that he is not feeding Stefan, Caroline or Katherine in order to keep them weak.

If she could get to one of them with a few blood bags, they might be able to find a way out, find Spike, and bring help. She knows it is a very desperate plan—she doesn't know where they are being held, what they have been compelled to do, or how to get them out. Stefan might even be starved beyond the ability to not kill her. But at least she can try.

Elena slowly pulls the blood bag across the table to herself and tucks it into her sweatshirt just in the nick of time. Dr. Columbi turns around, vitamin supplements in hand. His eyes immediately flick from the place on the table where the blood bag sat and back to Elena again. She smiles weakly; if he says anything the scheme is up. But he doesn't. He throws a backward glance to Marco, who is leaning against the wall just outside the door, and goes about his business as if nothing happened.

Elena is very nervous as she follows Marco back to her room. _Please don't burst open and leak_, she thinks, walking very stiffly. As long as the bag remains sealed he won't smell the blood. But if it leaks...

Thankfully they make it back to her room with no mishaps. As soon as Marco shuts the door behind him, Elena rushes to the bathroom. Under the sink are a variety of toiletries. Elena empties the contents of a box of tampons and hides the bag in the bottom of the box, putting them back in on top.

She needs to figure out how to get to her friends. She is sure that Marco or even Dr. Columbi must know something, but she can't work her way around their compulsion when the only Italian words she knows are types of food. After ensuring everything is properly hidden, Elena walks to the door and peeks out into the hall. Marco, as usual, is guarding the door.

"Can I ask you a question?" she asks him, testing his English. So far the only word he has said to her is 'go.'

He regards her confused. Elena holds up a finger and runs back into the room. There is no paper, but she does find a pencil in one of the nightstand drawers. She rips the cover page out of a Nicholas Sparks novel on the bookshelf, and writes a note on it for Klaus, asking for an Italian/English dictionary. She returns to Marco, the guard.

"Klaus?" she asks clearly, "Can you give this to Klaus?"

Marco nods in comprehension at the name Klaus and takes the note from her. Elena goes back into the room.

She spends the next few days trying to fine tune her plan, but without any method of communicating with either Marco or with Dr. Columbi, she finds she doesn't get much farther than managing to steal a few more blood bags which she hides in various corners of the room. Dr. Columbi is on to her scheme; he always leaves an extra blood bag out for her now. She just hopes that Klaus won't catch on and compel him.

Finally, after several days, there is a knock on the door and Klaus enters with his usual arrogant demeanour, though Elena notices he still looks a bit preoccupied.

"I see we're doing better. I came to see you a few weeks ago, but you didn't even notice I was here."

"Do you have my dictionary?" Elena asks acidly from where she is lying on the bed reading. She doesn't bother to get up. "You said I could have reading material."

"Shouldn't you be in mourning?" he taunts. "Or have you changed your mind once again and concluded Stefan was your one true love after all?"

Elena fixes him with the most contemptuous gaze she can muster. "I'm asking because I hate you and you're the only person I can communicate with. Do you have any idea how boring that is?"

"You sound like Katherine. It's such a pity really; you used to be so sweet."

Elena sits up and tosses her book aside. "The sweet, accommodating Elena died in October," she snaps. "Where's my dictionary."

"You can't have one. I don't want you conversing with the minions. I do have a surprise for you, though."

Elena flops back down onto the bed. "I doubt I'm interested."

"Oh, I think you're going to like this one," he glances over his shoulder and commands shouts something at Marco in Italian.

"So how long are you planning to keep me here?" Elena asks, picking up her book again. "Am I ever going back to Mystic Falls?"

"You are, eventually. There's not much point in keeping you here. It will be at least another month, though." He smiles, hearing something. "Ah, I believe they have arrived. Bring him in," he calls over his shoulder. There are footsteps and a few vampires enter the room, shoving Damon in front of them. Elena scrambles off the bed, sending the book flying.

"Damon!" she cries, rushing towards him. The vampire behind him gives him a rough shove towards her, sending him stumbling forward. Klaus just manages to catch him before he crashes headlong into her.

"Careful with the doppelganger!" Klaus barks at the vampires in English, and then begins yelling in a stream of Italian when he realizes they don't understand. They both leave, chagrined. Elena stands on the other side of Klaus, drinking Damon in. He looks a bit thinner than he used to be and his cheeks are more flushed, but he otherwise looks the same as the Damon she has always known. Most importantly, he looks alive.

"How did—why did?" She tries to form sentences. Finally she turns to Klaus. "You told me he was dead! Why would you do that?"

Klaus shrugs. "Call it an experiment," he tells her, grinning psychotically. "You're not the only one who gets bored Elena."

"You're sick," Elena snarls.

"Oh yes, I'm very depraved," he purrs with laughing eyes. "Have fun, children." He leaves the room, shutting the door quietly behind him.

"Hey." Damon gives her a crooked smile once Klaus is gone.

Elena rushes towards him, embracing him in a tight hug.

"Oomph," he responds, wrapping his arms around her as well.

"He told me you were dead," she says, her voice muffled by her head buried in his shoulder. "I thought you were dead."

Damon brings a comforting hand to her back, gently rubbing small circles. "Nope, I'm officially un un-dead."

"You're so warm," she comments, moving her head from his shoulder to look at him again. "You've never been this warm before."

"Ninety eight point six."

She brings a hand to his face, cupping his cheek. He kisses the inside of her wrist gently, resting his forehead against hers.

"Do you hate me?" she asks sincerely.

He brushes a lock of hair from her face, bringing his mouth close to hers. His eyes meet hers and she feels like she is going to keel over from the intensity of his gaze. "No," he whispers against her lips. His hands gently slide from her waist up her back, warm skin against warm skin.

They stumble towards the bed, not breaking apart. She winds her fingers into his hair, pulling him as close as she can. This moment rages, pulses. It more than consumes her; it pulls her apart, and puts her back together.

* * *

Elena wakes feeling sleepy, satisfied. She rolls on to her side. Damon is wide awake, staring at the ceiling.

"Hey," she says softly.

He rolls over, facing her. "Sleepyhead. You've been out for awhile."

Elena buries her head into her pillow. "Mm, well you wore me out."

"Good to know that part still works," Damon grins, propping himself up on one elbow. He fingers the ends of her hair. "You changed your hair. I like it."

"Mm," Elena responds her eyes half closed, running a finger down his arm absently, enjoying the warmth. For the first time in months, she is not sick with dread. The moment she realizes this though, her guilt comes slamming back to her with full force. Her eyes snap open.

"Hey." Damon brings a finger under her chin, "I know that look. Don't give me that look."

"Damon..."

"Sh. Not yet. Give me one minute to enjoy this okay?"

Elena closes her eyes resting her head against his. "You're human, and they're all rotting in some dungeon somewhere, and we're just going to lie in bed?"

"Do you remember the last opportunity we had to just lie in bed?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, we so should've taken it."

Elena fixes him with a withering look.

Throwing his hands up in surrender, Damon rolls back over onto his back. "Alright fine," he says, resigned, "Commence with the questioning."

Elena fluffs her pillow a few times making herself more comfortable. "What the hell happened?"

Damon taps his fingers absently. "I didn't want Klaus coming after you, so Jeremy and I decided that if you didn't find your witch in two weeks, we were going to distract him and go after the cure ourselves. Obviously it backfired."

"How did you even do it?"

"We broke into the maximum security prison in Wise County and turned prisoners into vampires for Jeremy to kill."

Elena sits up, "You took my little brother and broke into a _prison_?" She whacks him lightly with her pillow.

Damon grabs the pillow from her, putting it under his own head. She glares at him, but he only leans back smirking. "Hey, let's not get judgey about who has done what with whose little brother. I would have killed an entire town to get you that cure if I had to." Elena fixes him with a stern expression. "Oh don't look all shocked. You know it's true."

"But you didn't even want me to take it," she points out trying to yank her pillow back out from under him. It remains firmly beneath his head. "That's why you picked Katherine, isn't it?"

"It doesn't matter what I wanted."

"Yes, Damon, it does matter. It matters to me." She gives up on the pillow and lays a hand on his shoulder. "There's no sire bond anymore. You can tell me what you want and I can tell you to go to hell if I feel like it."

Damon grasps her hand in his, toying idly with her fingers. She notices he still wears his daylight ring even though he no longer needs it. "Fine, I wanted you to be able to decide what you wanted without the sire bond and or Klaus. But you're right; I hoped you would choose to stay a vampire." He takes a ragged breath. "Why did you do it, Elena? You should have picked Stefan."

"Because I was selfish," she answers as she sits back, leaning against the headboard. "I knew you didn't want this, but I picked you anyways because I love you and I want to be with you." She fusses with the edge of the bedspread, trying to come up with the words she needs to say. "I didn't like being a vampire, Damon, and most of the time I downright hated it. But if I'd been given the choice between you and the cure, I hope you know I would've picked you anyways."

Damon's eyes flick up to the ceiling. "I so don't deserve you."

"Hey, don't say that. It's not true." She leans over, cupping his face. "I know that it is going to be hard. But you helped me through becoming a vampire; I'm going to help you through this."

"I don't even know what _this_ is going to look like."

Elena slumps down, lying on her back. "For all I know, we're going to be trapped in this room for the rest of our lives. I don't understand why he wanted to turn you or Stefan back anyways."

"Because he's a sick bastard who gets off on psychologically tormenting people," Damon quips. "But I for one am not going to let him." Damon rolls over, propping himself up on one elbow.

"Tell me the rest of what happened," Elena urges, turning on to her side so they are eye to eye.

Damon sighs. "Well, as soon as the map was finished," he begins, "We got Jeremy to draw it and Matt and I tried to decode it while he distracted Klaus. It turned out to be on a tiny little island of off Cyprus. We were trying to figure out the best time to make a break for it when the thing with the hybrids happened and we went for it."

"How did you get Stefan on board?"

"Revenge on Klaus mostly. Less alcohol and more purpose. I was hoping we could get the cure before Klaus even realized we were gone, but...we weren't very lucky. He decided we were worth more to him than exacting revenge on the hybrids and he came straight after us. I compelled Matt to forget what he knew, but I think Klaus found a way around it. I told him and Bonnie and Caroline to get as far from Mystic Falls as they could, but I don't know what happened."

Elena considers this for a moment. "When I spoke to Caroline, she said something about her and Matt having a plan."

"They did something stupid then; it doesn't matter, though. I realized after we left we should have either taken Caroline with us or sent her off separately because Klaus would've gone after her regardless. Anyways, he caught up to us not long after we found the cure. Stefan and I tried to distract him so Jeremy could get away, but he didn't get very far. Klaus grabbed him and that's the last time I saw him. I'm not quite sure what happened after that; someone knocked me out and I woke up halfway here."

Elena gulps, "So you haven't seen him since...?"

Damon laces his fingers through hers. "No. I'm so sorry Elena. They put us into a dungeon of some kind downstairs. I'm not sure what it is, but we couldn't hear or see each other."

"Where was this dungeon? How do you get down there?" Elena questions in a hushed voice, her brain whirling with possibilities.

Damon frowns. "I don't know. I was a bit preoccupied by the agonizing pain of trying to move." He notices her expression and catches on quickly, "What are you planning Elena?"

"Who says I'm planning anything?" Elena pulls back, feigning innocence. Whatever she does, he can't know about it; he could be compelled and forced to give away everything, or even worse—hurt in the process. She feels a fierce desire to protect him now that he is more vulnerable. After all, it's her fault in the first place.

"You're not as hard to read as you think you are, Miss I'm Up to Something."

"I swear. I'm not up to anything. Cross my heart."

Damon gives her a knowing look. "Liar," he whispers, his eyes flickering with amusement.

"Finish telling me what happened," Elena insists, trying to distract him.

He hesitates. "Elena, there's something you should know." He swallows once. "I really don't want to tell you this."

"Damon, what is it?"

He looks at her forehead, lightly brushing a piece of hair away from it. "After he gave you the cure, they fed me some blood and put me in a room kind of like this one. They wanted me to recover before they gave me the cure. I think they put me in a room above the big one we were in earlier. I could hear what was going on downstairs… Klaus…he had Tyler brought into the room."

Elena gasps. "No..."

"I'm not sure how he even found him. I think he used Caroline to lure him somewhere. I'm so sorry, Elena."

"Is he..?" The word _dead_ hangs in the air between them, unsaid.

Damon nods grimly.

"Are you sure?" she chokes out.

"I'm positive. I'm so sorry, Elena." She leans against him, crying silently.

Damon rubs her back gently. "I know this won't make you feel any better," he says after a few minutes of letting her cry, "but I'm also sure he let Caroline go."

"He did what?" Elena asks, wiping her nose.

"Klaus compelled one of his vampires take her home."

"Why would he do that?"

"Because despite being completely batshit psychotic, he loves her."

Elena sits up, wiping her eyes, "I'm going to kill him," she says with resolve. "And I don't care what I have to do to do it."

"Did you find the witch?" Damon asks her quietly. Elena puts a finger to her lips.

"No," she says purposefully loudly, just in case anyone is listening. She motions for him to follow her into the bathroom where she flicks on the shower.

"We found Spike," she whispers shrugging off her t-shirt and climbing into the shower. "He was going to get the witch when Kol found us."

Damon arches an eyebrow in amusement and immediately steps in after her. "How does Klaus not know about this?" he asks, equally hushed.

"I got lucky. He did a crappy job of compelling me. I think he's preoccupied with something."

Damon tilts his head back into the spray of water, thinking. "I bet it's the hybrids. The werewolf gene is pretty rare and he killed off most of the American ones."

"I don't understand why he needs them at all. He has a whole slew of compelled vampires at his disposal."

"It's a superiority complex thing. Or he has something diabolical planned. Probably both."

"If we can get Stefan or Katherine out, they might be able to find Spike," Elena suggests.

"What about Caroline? Maybe he'll find her."

"I don't think the chances of that are good. And who knows what kind of state she's in…especially with what happened to Tyler."

She leans against him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"We'll figure it out," he says throatily in her ear, planting a series of soft kisses on her neck. Elena gently slides her hands up his chest, tilting her head up to meet his mouth.

There's a resounding knock on the door.

Damon groans, leaning his forehead on hers. "You have got to be kidding me."

"You stay here, I'll deal with it." She instructs, stepping out and wrapping a towel around herself.

"Hang on," she calls as she enters the bedroom.

"It's time for your blood draw," a familiar voice calls back, irritated.

Elena stops dead in her tracks. "Stefan?"

She walks over to the door and throws it open. It is certainly Stefan, but one look at him tells her everything she needs to know. His nonchalant posture, the psychotic grin on his face and most of all, his eyes filled with a half crazed bloodlust make it obvious, he's flipped the humanity switch.

"Let's cut this little reunion short," Stefan says, crossing his arms. "I have better things to do than shuttle around everyone's favourite blood bag."

"What did he do to you?" Elena utters in disbelief.

Stefan's eyes flick behind her, Damon is standing there, surprised and also towel clad.

"Well isn't this a happy picture," Stefan comments.

"I..." Elena looks from one brother to the other, trying to say something.

"Stefan," Damon recovers quickly. "You're looking awfully... chipper."

"And you're looking awfully human," Stefan chuckles. "Better you than me brother."

"As always, your timing is nothing short of impeccable," Damon comments drily.

Stefan shrugs. "Klaus told me take Elena to her blood draw." He nods at Elena. "Get dressed. I have things to do."

She glances at Damon; she doesn't really want to leave him alone with Stefan, even for a minute. Damon cocks an eyebrow as if to say he has everything under control, Elena throws him a skeptical look but the situation calls for more clothing than a mere towel. "Hang on," she sighs, grabbing some clothes from the wardrobe and trudging towards the bathroom.

"You could just change in here," Stefan calls after her, laughing. "It's not anything we haven't both seen before."

Elena rolls her eyes and slams the bathroom door shut in response. She can still hear them talking in the bedroom, though.

"So..." she hears Stefan say. "You didn't waste any time did you?"

"What do you want me to say, Stefan?" Damon replies defensively.

"Knowing you, I'm sure you can come up with something. Or did humanity quash your sense of humour out of you?"

"Oh trust me, it's still there. How are you by the way? Rip anyone's head off today?" Damon throws back playfully.

"At least I'm the one doing the ripping," Stefan spits back at him. "Tell me Damon, how does it feel to know that after a century and a half of always having the edge that I could end you in seconds?"

"By the looks of you, I still got the better end of the deal. At least I'm not Klaus's little bitch. _Again_."

"I'd rather be Klaus's than Elena's. Elena hurry up," Stefan calls. "You're getting your blood drawn, not going to the prom."

"I'm hurrying," she calls back.

Elena emerges, piling her wet hair on top of her head. Damon grabs her sweatshirt off the end of the bed and holds it out for her as she shrugs into it. Tenderly, he pulls a strand of hair she missed off her neck and gently tucks it into the bun on top of her head. _Is he trying to bait Stefan_, she wonders. She turns around, throwing him a quizzical expression but he glances over the top of her head, distracted by his brother. Finally he meets her eyes and zips up her sweatshirt.

"Have a good blood draw," he says softly planting a kiss on her forehead. She narrows her eyes, indicating they will be having a conversation later.

"Ok, let's go," she urges Stefan.

Stefan ushers her out the door ahead of him. "You take care, brother," he calls over his shoulder as they leave. "Enjoy your life while you can. By my reckoning, you've only got a few good years left before your hairline starts to recede."

"We both know I'll still be better looking," Damon calls after them. Stefan slams the door shut in response and strides past her.

"So did Klaus compel you to turn it off?" Elena asks, trotting behind him down the corridor.

Stefan spins suddenly around on his heels. "I know what this is, Elena. You're hoping I'll say 'yes' so you don't have to feel guilty." She opens her mouth and then shuts it again. He smiles wickedly, "You're out of luck. This one's all on you."

"It doesn't matter, Stefan," Elena insists. "I feel guilty either way. Which I'm sure was Klaus's intention when he forced me to pick one of you."

"Oh, I'm sure his intentions are far more diabolical than that."

"And those intentions are?"

"Hell if I know," he says, turning around and continuing to walk.

Elena grabs his arm. "Stefan, I know you don't care right now. But someday you will again and I want you to know that just because I'm with Damon doesn't mean I don't care about you," she declares sincerely. "I know who you are, Stefan, and I will always fight for you. We're family."

Stefan shrugs her arm off, snickering. "Family? That's pretty messed up, Elena, even for you. God, it doesn't matter who you're sleeping with or what species you are, does it?" He laughs again with a light yet sinister laugh. "You really aim to be as pathetic as possible, don't you?"

He turns around and continues walking. Elena follows, trying not to let him get to her.

"So have you seen Jeremy?" she asks trying again. Other than Klaus, Stefan is the first English speaking person with potential information she's had access to.

"Can't tell you that," Stefan replies.

"Because you've been compelled?"

"Can't tell you that either."

"Is Katherine still alive?"

"Unfortunately," He replies curtly.

They stop at the door to the hospital room. "In you go," Stefan instructs, opening it for her. "I'll be back in half an hour to come get you. Unless of course, you need someone to hold your hand?"

Elena gives him a dirty look and storms in, arms crossed. It takes Dr. Columbi only fifteen minutes to get all the blood he needs today. Elena refrains from sneaking a bag back with her, now that Damon is around it is going to be hard enough just to keep the ones she has hidden. She glances around the room. Stefan said he wouldn't be back for half an hour. She knows it's risky—she will probably get caught—but the lure of information is too strong; she hasn't been compelled and she has fifteen minutes before anyone will notice she is missing. With a nod to Dr. Columbi who regards her curiously, she slips out of the room.

The landing she finds herself on is, of course, familiar. There's a short staircase leading up to her room and another leading down. Elena treads quietly down the stairs and finds herself back in the main hall she was in when she was still a vampire. The door to the large room they were in before is propped open, but there doesn't appear to be anyone in it. She creeps towards the second set of stairs that lead down. They are very narrow and they go for some time, curving at turns. At the bottom, she finds a small dark room with a wooden door. She moves towards it.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Elena whirls around. Stefan stands nonchalantly at the bottom of the staircase.

"How did you know I was here?" she demands.

"Lucky guess. You're not that unpredictable, Elena."

She sighs. "Fine, drag me back upstairs."

"If you'd prefer to stay down here and be locked up, I'm sure it could be arranged. I won't judge; I know what a pain in the ass Damon can be." His eyes widen in humour. "You and Katherine could have adjoining cells."

"Can I see her?" she asks cautiously.

"Nope."

"Whatever." She brushes past him, arms crossed, and makes her way back up the stairs. "Are you going to tell Klaus?" she asks, worried for Jeremy.

Stefan follows her up the stairs. "Not everyone is as stupid as you are, Elena. Like I'm going to voluntarily confess to leaving you alone long enough to sneak downstairs?"

Elena throws her hands in the air. "I don't know what you'll do Stefan. Your personality does a complete one-eighty when you're like this. Damon doesn't even know what you're capable of and he knows you better than anyone."

"Not for long, I'm sure. I wonder how long he'll last as a human before he gets himself killed trying to protect you."

Elena desperately resists the urge to hit him. "I hate it when you're like this," she growls in frustration.

"You're the one who made him mortal, Elena," Stefan taunts. "You know, if you really loved either of us, you would have just let Klaus kill us. At least then we'd be free of you."

Elena bites back tears. "I don't buy that. You both could've me left a long time ago if you'd wanted to."

"You think I never thought about it, Elena? You think Damon never thought about it? We both did plenty of times. Do you know where Damon was that night I bit you? He ran off with Katherine because he couldn't handle the pressure of trying to live up to your ridiculous expectations."

"Stop it," she chokes.

Stefan grins, knowing he's finally gotten to her, "Do you really think you're that special, Elena? Do you really think that you have anything I couldn't have gotten from any other high school girl? I don't know what Damon sees in you, but I wouldn't count on it lasting long. If you're lucky he'll get bored and move on. And if you're not, he'll stick around and hate you forever. That's what he does Elena."

Elena brushes away the few tears leaking out of her eyes and brings back her fist; she punches him as hard as she can manage in the jaw. He barely flinches, but his eyes give him away.

For a split second she sees a stab of guilt, a flash of tenderness. She knows that look; she searched for weeks on end to see even a hint of it in him.

Elena's eyes widen. "You haven't—" Stefan quickly recovers and places his hand over her mouth, giving her a scathing look. He jerks his head up the stairs and lets his hand drop, grabbing her arm instead. He leads quickly up the rest of the stairs and bursts into the bedroom. Damon is lying on the bed, skimming _Dante's Inferno_. He regards their entrance with nothing more than a raised eyebrow. Stefan motions his head towards the bathroom and goes to turn on the tap.

"I take it the jig is up?" Damon remarks as soon as the water runs. Elena reels on him.

"You knew about this?"

"Chill, I've only known about half an hour longer than you have." Damon shuts the door and leans against it.

"So what, you snuck back here while I was having my blood drawn and hatched some secret plan?" She looks from one Salvatore to the other.

Damon scratches his ear guiltily and glares at Stefan, indicating that is exactly what happened. "I told you she was going to catch on. You're going to have to up your game if you want to keep fooling Klaus." He turns to Elena, "What gave him away?"

Elena glances at the floor, embarrassed about her outburst. Stefan shifts his feet a little and finally meets his brother's eyes.

"I made her cry," he confesses uncomfortably.

Damon's eyes flash, for a moment revealing a side to him Elena had hoped might be gone for good. "Stefan!" he bursts, taking a step closer to his brother.

Stefan holds up a hand to stop him. "You're the one who told me I had to up the ante if I was going to convince her. I'm pretty sure you don't get to play the concerned boyfriend when it was your idea in the first place."

"I said it would be more believable if you made her _mad_, not make her cry," Damon spits, gesturing wildly.

Elena crosses her arms. "Both of you shut up. Someone needs to tell me what the hell is going on. _Now_."

Stefan leans against the shower, crossing his arms. "I faked turning my humanity off before Klaus could compel me to," he explains. "Caroline managed to slip this to me before she left." He pulls something out of his sock and lets it dangle in front of her. Elena gets a good look at it, recognizing the vervain necklace she gave Caroline back when she was still human. "I'd already been compelled some at that point, but it's kept me safe since then."

"Why were you trying to hide it?"

"You and Damon can still be compelled; I didn't want you to accidently give me away. Unfortunately you both caught on all on your own."

"So what are you trying to do?" Elena hoists herself up so she is perched on the edge of the sink while Damon remains leaning on the door, hovering near her elbow.

"I want to try and get Katherine out," Stefan declares. "I don't think she's been compelled to stay here. If we can feed her and get her out of her cell, we might have a shot. I know she has allies, people who might help us."

"And I told him it was a stupid idea," Damon counters, irritated. "Even if we manage to get her out, Klaus will immediately retaliate; he'll kill Stefan no question, possibly Jeremy, probably me. And I'm sorry, I don't buy this whole 'Katherine has allies' crap. Nobody's that stupid."

"We were," Stefan points out. Damon rolls his eyes.

"You're forgetting about the witch," Elena points out. Damon lets out a sigh of frustration.

"Witch?" Stefan looks from Damon to Elena quizzically. "You didn't say anything about the witch, Damon."

"No offense, Stef, but humanity or not, you're high on the human stuff. I don't trust you like this."

"Damon..." Elena warns, but Damon is having none of it.

"Last time he was like this he tried to drive you off a bridge, Elena."

Stefan nods his head slowly in agreement. "I know," he says. "And you're right to question me right now. But we're going to have to trust each other and let some things go if we're not all going to live out what is rest of our lives under Klaus's thumb." He turns to Elena. "Did you find the witch?" he asks eagerly.

"She exists," Elena answers vaguely. "Katherine might be able to get to her. Damon's right, though. If we try and get Katherine out this way, most of us will be dead before she can bring help. You need me."

"We didn't want to involve you," Stefan insists.

Elena rolls her eyes. "Well that was stupid of you."

"Elena—"Damon tries to cut in.

"No," Elena interrupts firmly. "Think about it, Klaus is going to send us back to Mystic Falls, right?"

"Yes," Stefan answers.

"So we wait until right before he does and Katherine and I swap places. I have some of my blood stashed; we can feed her that. She gets away and we mitigate the risk by making it look like she did it on her own."

"That just puts you at risk," Damon points out. Elena glares at him.

"Look, it isn't perfect, but as long as Katherine gets away clean, it could work. Stefan has vervain and he could compel you and me to forget everything. It's the safest plan there is; Klaus is not going to kill me."

Stefan nods once, thinking through the idea.

Damon on the other hand, is incensed. "There are a thousand and one ways that can go wrong—and even if they don't— do the words '_Katherine gets away clean'_ not resonate with you? She'll be in Dubai slinging back wine coolers before Klaus can rip your heart out."

"If Katherine gets away, that is twice she owes me her life," Elena tells them. "She doesn't forget that kind of debt. If she did you'd be long dead from a werewolf bite. She'll get the witch."

Stefan looks to his brother. "Look, I don't like it either," he begins with a pleading stare, "but this is the best plan we have."

Damon shakes his head. "No way. Just because Klaus won't kill you, Elena, doesn't mean you won't starve to death before Katherine gets away."

"That's why we wait to do it until right before Klaus sends us back to Mystic Falls. We'll slip her the blood bags I have, change clothes and she can knock me out and feed on me a little. As soon as she gets away, they'll figure it out and Klaus will find me. It won't take long."

Damon shakes his head again. "It's too desperate."

"None of us like this, Damon," Stefan says evenly. "But we only have so long before Klaus finds some werewolves and starts his hybrid creation. He's got people scouting them already and as soon as he finds them, he's sending you back to Mystic Falls. I can't see an alternative, can you?"

He pauses, giving his brother a moment to respond, but Damon doesn't answer. He flicks his eyes, as if to say go on.

"I know Jeremy's alive, but I don't know where he is," Stefan continues. "And with Caroline in Mystic Falls— probably compelled— and you and Elena now human, I don't see any other way out of this. I can't leave this fortress without Klaus's permission, and I'm not expecting I'll get it any time soon. If you have an alternative, I'm all ears. But the fact is: we don't know what the situation looks like in Mystic Falls—"

Damon takes a breath. "And it's better to act where we know the situation," he finishes tiredly, "I was a solider once, I know."

Elena reaches for his hand. "It'll be fine Damon. Stefan will compel us; you'll barely even know that I'm gone."

"That's not as reassuring as you think it is." He runs his thumb over her palm.

"It's the only way," Elena pleads.

"I know." Damon turns to Stefan. "How long before Klaus lets us go back to Mystic Falls?"

"I'm not sure," he answers, "Probably a few weeks. He's got some contacts scouting out potential werewolves but they're waiting until after the full moon to make a move. When he does find them, he's sending you and Elena back to Mystic Falls with Kol. There's not a lot of room here and he wants her kept far away from the hybrids in case something goes wrong."

Damon drops Elena's hand. "Fine, let's go through with it then."

"You're going to have to compel us to forget now," Elena urges Stefan. "It's too risky for us to know without vervain."

Stefan nods, grimly.

"You can start with me," Damon offers. "I'm trusting you to not jack this up, Stefan. If you do I swear to God—"

Stefan clamps a hand on his brother's shoulder. "You can trust me." He glances at Elena, still perched on the sink. "I promise." He takes a ragged breath, "Damon, I know things have been strained between us but I want you to know that I—"

Damon gives his brother a small smile. "I know, Stef. Me too."

Elena bites back her tears causing Damon to laugh. He offers her a hand, helping her off the sink. "Ah, we should stop. We're making our girl cry again."

Elena wipes her eyes. "Happy tears," she says, smiling. She looks from one brother to the other. She knows she should be angry with Damon for his teasing use of the word '_our,'_ but she can't really bring herself to mind much. Katherine was right. She does love them both. The difference is where Katherine saw a game to be played, a role to manipulate, Elena sees only two people she would do anything for. She and Stefan will never go back to the relationship they had before, but they will always care about each other and somehow she knows that all three of them are stronger for it.

She knows that they all have a long road to go when it comes to mending fences. But, standing here, between the two brothers, crammed into a tiny bathroom, she allows herself to feel hope. The three of them have hated and loved and fought and betrayed each other in some of the worst ways imaginable, but when all is said and done, they still stand here together, trusting each other. What is Klaus, really, in the face of their admittedly strange but unbreakable bond?

She glances at Stefan who takes a deep breath and looks into his brother's eyes. He opens his mouth, but then he stops. The tension is palpable.

"Just do it Stefan," Damon urges calmly.

Stefan opens his mouth again, his eyes dilating with compulsion. "Damon, you're going to forget that I didn't really flip my humanity switch. You don't know anything about the plan to swap Katherine and Elena. If you come across one of the blood bags, you won't notice it is there. When Katherine shows up, you are going to think she is Elena. In the meantime, you need to train and get your strength back." Damon nods once in acknowledgement and stares blankly ahead.

Stefan turns to Elena. "Elena, for what it's worth. I'm sorry I made you cry earlier. I was…"

"Letting out some frustration?" she finishes for him.

"Yeah. What I said, though, I didn't really mean it. Please believe that."

"It's okay. I…I hope you feel better. I deserved it. And I'm sorry too." She envelops him in a quick hug. "Alright," she says stepping back and trying to smile. "Compel me."

He grimaces slightly. "You know, I've never compelled you before."

"You haven't compelled Damon before either. C'mon, Stefan. It won't be so bad."

He bites his lip but finally he brings himself to continue. "Elena, you're going to forget all of this until it is time to trade places with Katherine. You're going to forget any plans you were making before and if you come across any of the blood bags you stashed for her, you're not going to notice them. As far as you know, I flipped my humanity switch."

Elena blinks and glances around the room blankly. She is standing in the bathroom; the sink is running and Damon standing next to her, absently fingering the ends of her hair.

"Why are we standing in the bathroom?" she asks him.

Damon shrugs. "Want to do some training?" He gives her a wide, charming smile. "We could work on stamina." He winks rakishly.

Elena laughs, playfully punching his arm. "I'll show you stamina."

Standing outside in the hallway, Stefan leans against the wall, waiting to make sure they snap out of their compulsion. As soon as he hears Elena's shrieks of laughter, he pushes himself off the wall, squaring his shoulders and walking away.

**A/N: Thank you all for reading, I hope you all are enjoying this journey as much as I am. Special thank you to my beta SkyeVenomatic who completely rocks! **


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"Elena," a voice hisses. Elena rolls over, ignoring the voice. "Elena!" It whispers again, more insistent this time. Elena blinks her eyes open and immediately shrinks back at the sight of Stefan leaning over the edge of her bed. She opens her mouth to shriek, but Stefan holds a finger to his lips. "Remember," he mouths. Elena blinks, and a second later, the memories come rushing back to her.

"What happened?" she hisses, sitting up. "It was supposed to be weeks; it's only been two days."

Stefan's eyes darken, "Klaus changed his plans. He's shipping you and Damon off tomorrow and then he and I are apparently heading straight to the Ural Mountains."

Elena hesitates, glancing at Damon who remains soundly asleep next to her.

"Elena, if we're going to do this, we have to do it now," Stefan insists. "If you don't want to do it, I would never force you, but you need to decide right now."

Elena doesn't hesitate this time; she meets his eyes firmly and slips out of bed. "Let's go," she whispers. Not bothering to change out of her pyjamas, she grabs only her shoes and a few blood bags.

With one last look at Damon, she swallows her apprehension and follows Stefan out the door. He offers her his hand and she takes it, grateful for the comfort. But for all her bravado, she knows this plan could still go very, very wrong.

Stefan leads her down the stairs to the door she stood in front of a few weeks ago. This time though, he opens it and they walk down a long, dark corridor, their footsteps echoing on the gritty floors. Elena assumes now they are quite far underground. The stone walls drip with condensation. The corridor twists and turns a few times before Stefan leads her down another set of stairs and finally to a high, steel door. Elena knows who lies behind it.

"Stefan I—" Elena starts before he can open the door.

Stefan lets his hand drop away from the handle, turning to face her. "Elena, you don't ever have to justify your choices to me," he says sincerely. "Even if I don't like them, I'm not in any position to judge you. It is what it is."

Elena bites her lip. "I'm so sorry things have happened this way, Stefan," she confesses, "I never wanted you to get hurt in all this. Please believe that."

Stefan shakes his head. "Elena...we're always going to care about each other, but I know now that we're never going back and I'm okay with that. You were right about what you said before: we're family." He laughs, "A weird, messed up version of one for sure, but family just the same. Just...look after my brother, okay? If anyone can pull him through this, it's you."

Elena looks towards the door again, they don't have much time but she has to ask this. "Stefan, whatever happens to me, will you promise me something?"

"Anything," Stefan responds without hesitation.

"Take care of Jeremy?"

Stefan grasps her shoulder, locking eyes with her. "Elena, I promise you. I will do everything I can for Jeremy. Alright?"

"Thank you," Elena swallows, her voice wavering.

Stefan gives her shoulder a reassuring squeeze and turns the door knob. The door swings open, revealing Katherine languishing on the floor, her head propped up against the wall, her feet stretched out before her.

"I see the cavalry has arrived," she rasps. She doesn't even expend the energy to get up off the floor when she sees them. She merely stares with her blood red eyes, stark against her pallor.

Elena throws her a blood bag from her sweatshirt pocket, afraid to get too close. Katherine grasps it eagerly, pops the lid and begins to down it.

Elena crosses her arms, watching her suck down the blood. "I'll make you a deal. We get you out of here, you get Spike and Willow."

Katherine squeezes the last of the blood for the bag and tosses it aside. She meets Elena's eyes. "You get me out of here and I'll do whatever you want." Elena throws her another blood bag which she starts drinking eagerly.

"Did Klaus compel you to stay in here and never leave?" Stefan bristles. Much like Damon, mere proximity to Katherine seems to irk his every nerve. "Because if he did, this whole plan is moot."

"No," Katherine replies between gulps, "He did for a while, but he got tired of having to de-compel me to leave every time he wanted me upstairs."

"Good," Elena tosses her doppelganger the last blood bag. "So here's the plan. Switch clothes with me and put your hair up. Klaus is going to send us back to Mystic Falls tomorrow morning. All you have to do is pretend to be me long enough to get away." Elena unzips her sweatshirt and tosses it to Katherine, along with a hair tie. "There are more blood bags hidden under the bathroom sink in my room upstairs. Damon has been compelled so _leave him out of it_." Elena delivers the last words with a warning look, throwing Katherine her camisole and pyjamas without bothering to be modest about it. Katherine rolls her eyes and stands, tossing the blood bag aside. Her colour has improved some, but she is obviously in need of more blood. She steps out of her dress effortlessly and tosses it to Elena.

"Whatever you want, Elena," she replies, pulling on her pyjamas. Elena steps into the tattered dress and pulls it up. It had been cute two months ago in London, but now she flinches at the thought of wearing such a filthy, tattered, bloodstained garment. She tosses Katherine her shoes and comes to stand next to her, flinching at the feel of her bare feet on the grimy floor. Stefan gives them both a once over.

"It won't work for long, but it ought to fool them at least until Katherine gets away," he confirms with an approving nod. "Katherine, you'll need to feed on her a little. I'll make the blood bags disappear, but it has to look like you pulled this off on your own."

"My pleasure," Katherine responds, her veins already revealing themselves on her face. Elena holds out her wrist, wincing as Katherine bites into it. It seems as if she drinks forever, but when Elena's vision starts to blur, Stefan finally cuts in, looking as if he is barely keeping it together himself.

"Enough," he growls, pulling Katherine off and pushing her to the other side of the room. She stumbles, but recovers quickly. After a breath, her fangs disappear and she hovers on the other side of Stefan, watching curiously.

Stefan grasps Elena by the shoulders, looking into her eyes, his pupils dilate. "Elena, you're going to forget all about any plan to swap places with Katherine or how you got down here. You have no idea where she might try to go. The last thing you remember is you were in bed—asleep—and then you heard a noise. You're going to know that someone is looking out for Jeremy, but you won't remember how."

Stefan pulls away and Elena blinks. But before she can comprehend anything, Katherine grabs her head and bashes it against the stone wall. Everything goes dark.

* * *

Elena awakes to a rough prodding at her side. She blinks once. Klaus is standing over her, looming angrily.

"Get up!" he growls. Elena sits up, confused.

"What–?" she asks, rubbing the bump on her head.

Klaus's eyes flash yellow for a moment, then return to their usual brown. "That is an excellent question, Elena. Start talking."

"I was asleep in bed," she replies, glancing around in a daze. "Now I'm here." She's back in the big room where Klaus forced her to make that choice all those weeks ago. She flinches as she notices the spots of blood on the walls and floor. _Tyler's?_ she wonders, shuddering.

"Do you really expect me to believe that Katherine managed all of this on her own?"

"What?" She asks groggily.

"_Katherine _somehow managed to impersonate you long enough to make a break for it."

Elena leans back onto her palms in shock. "Is Damon alright?" she asks, worried.

Klaus glowers from above her. He brings back a foot and Elena flinches, expecting him to kick her. Instead, he just brings it down just millimetres from her hand. "You know who is _not_ going to be alright, Elena?" he threatens, "Jeremy."

"I don't know what happened!" she cries, shrinking away from him in fear.

Klaus kneels down next to her and leans in close, his pupils dilating. "Tell me the truth!" he barks.

"I was asleep in bed with Damon," Elena answers blankly, the compulsion taking over. Something she can't quite grip tugs at her conscience, but her brain only moves on to answer Klaus's question. "I think I got up because I heard a noise. The next thing I knew, I was here."

"Where would Katherine have gone?"

"I don't know."

Klaus steps back, releasing her from his compulsion. He kicks the wall angrily and yells a few things at his lackeys in Italian. Stefan arrives moments later.

"Yes?" he asks carelessly.

In a flash, Klaus grabs him by the throat and throws him up against the wall. "What do you know about this?"

Stefan's brow furrows. "Know about what?" he chokes out.

Klaus loosens his hold on Stefan's throat. "This is Elena," he explains gesturing to her.

Stefan's eyes flick to Elena, emotionless. "So?" he remarks as if she means nothing to him.

"So where in God's name is _Katherine_!" Klaus tightens his hold on Stefan's throat, this time compelling him. "Tell me what you know!"

"I don't know anything," Stefan replies calmly. Klaus steps away, fuming. "Have you tried asking Damon?" Stefan inquires.

"Have I tried asking Damon?" Klaus throws his hands in the air as if he cannot believe the level of idiocy he is surrounded by. "What do you think the first thing I did was? Much more, what do you think the first thing Katherine did was? Whatever he knew, he's forgotten and I haven't been able to get around it."

"Can I go now?" Elena interrupts. "I have a killer headache."

"Kol!" Klaus shouts.

Kol pokes his head into the room, irritated. "What?"

Klaus nods towards Elena. "Take her to Dr. Columbi and make sure she doesn't have a head injury. And then get Damon and take them back to Virginia. I want them both out of my sight. _Today_."

Klaus leans close to Elena. "You're going to go back to Mystic Falls and you are not going to try and escape. Understand?"

Elena nods obediently.

"Now why didn't you think of that earlier?" Stefan remarks, smirking.

Klaus grabs a sword off the wall and flings it at Stefan, but the younger vampire catches it easily.

"Why don't you just kill him?" Kol asks his brother, nodding his head towards Stefan.

"Because he's still somewhat useful to me," Klaus responds, annoyed. "Just take Elena, please, Kol."

"What are you going to do about Katherine?" Kol inquires. Elena winces at his stupidity.

In a whirl, Klaus is standing in his brother's face. "Just do it!" He barks. Kol rolls his eyes and lifts Elena into his arms.

"I can walk," she complains.

Kol clicks his tongue. "We don't know what the doppel-bitch did to you. Best not move until we get your pretty little head to the doctor." He smirks malevolently at Elena's death glare.

Dr. Columbi diagnoses her with a slight concussion and bandages the bite on her wrist, neither of which Kol feels is worth delaying their departure for. He doesn't even allow her a quick shower and change of clothes, merely hustles her downstairs, out into a courtyard and into the back of a military type jeep. Elena rolls her eyes as she spots it; leave it to Klaus to forgo a normal car in favour of military transportation. The space in the back of the jeep Kol lifts her into isn't large, just two horizontally facing jump seats on either end. Marco follows moments after she has seated herself, escorting a scowling Damon who seats himself across from her. There's a barrier blocking their view from the driver's side and once Kol slams the door shut there is no view of the outside either. Elena can hear him stomping outside, saying something to Marco before he comes around the front and climbs into the cab. The jeep starts to move.

Elena turns to Damon as soon as the jeep starts moving, hoping the noise will block Kol's vampire hearing at least a little. It is semi-dark, but she can tell he sits tensely, his jaw clenched.

Damon breaks the silence, taking in the fact she is still wearing Katherine's grimy, blood-stained club dress. "Are you alright? Klaus didn't hurt you?"

"I'm fine," she answers. "But I can literally see the anger radiating off you."

"Well I had _Katherine_ in my head." He stretches his feet out in front of him rolling his eyes up to the ceiling. "Have I mentioned lately how much I want to rip her spleen out through her back?"

"Damon, she's gone now," Elena lowers her voice to a whisper. "I think maybe she went for help."

He hits head against the wall lightly in frustration. "I seriously doubt it. She's probably on a beach somewhere compelling male models to indulge her every whim."

Elena gives him a critical look. It's obvious he's hiding something behind his anger. "What did she do?" she utters breathily.

"She compelled me to think she was you," he spits bitterly, his eyes wild. "Isn't that bad enough?"

"What did she really do, Damon?" Elena pushes, even though she thinks she already knows. "Damon, did you sleep with her?"

Damon looks away. "I don't know," he finally mutters. "There are these big blanks in my memory; I have no idea what she made me do. It's Katherine; she loves to play games."

Elena sinks back in her seat, her arms crossed. "I'm gonna kill her. I swear to God I am going to kill her."

Damon moves forward so he is kneeling in front of her. "Just let me get a couple good shots in, okay? Maybe let me at her with some wooden bullets?"

Elena's brow furrows. "That depends: how bad do they hurt?"

"Like a bitch," he says with a faint smile.

"Good." She runs a hand through his shock of dark hair, feeling him release some of the tension he's carrying. "Whatever happened, I know it's not your fault. Let's just forget it, okay?"

He nods, leaning his forehead on her knees. Elena lets him stay like that a moment, then pushes him back so she can sit on the floor with him. She wraps her legs around his waist and crawls into his lap, sitting so they are chest to chest.

"Did Klaus say anything important when he questioned you, like about Stefan and Jeremy maybe?" she asks, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Just that they were staying here in Europe with him." He idly toys with the ends of her hair. "That he had plans for Stefan," he lets out bitterly. Elena fights back the images that come forward of what those plans might entail…what they might do to Stefan's psyche once he has flipped the switch back.

"Hey." Elena cups his face gently, forcing him to look at her. "He's going to be alright," she assures him. "He flipped the switch back once, he can do it again."

"Of course he will, eventually, but that could take decades. And if you hadn't noticed, we're working with a shorter life span here. Last time was...to be honest, it was a fluke. You turning into a vampire was the only reason he was doing half as well as he was, and it's not like _I_ can do much good anymore."

"You're still his big brother Damon. And Caroline can help, she was helping before. Between the three of us, we will get through this." She swallows, twining her hand in his,"All of it."

He smoothes back a lock of her hair, "Well you just named the three most stubborn people in the world right there," he smiles. "Throw in a badass witch and maybe we've got a shot."

Elena glances down at their entwined fingers, his daylight ring sits perched on his index finger. It's been there for the last few days but it is still strange to see.

"Why are you still wearing this?" She asks curiously.

Damon glances at it sheepishly flexing his fingers, "I've had it on every day for a century and half, feels weird without it."

The jeep slows to a stop and Damon grabs her shoulders before she can careen into the side. A moment later, the door is thrown open, revealing Kol and Marco.

Kol laughs loudly at their position. "Oh, I'm sorry, should I come back when you've finished?" Elena blushes at the insinuation, untangling herself from Damon and hopping out of the jeep.

They're on the tarmac of an airfield of some kind. Klaus must have a private jet, which doesn't really surprise her. Kol grips her arm tightly, manoeuvring her towards the plane parked on the runway.

"You're hurting me," she accuses, struggling in his grip as he pulls her across the airstrip.

"She's not going anywhere," Damon calls from behind them where he is restrained by Marco. "Lighten up."

Kol shouts something back in Italian. Elena isn't sure if he's talking to Damon or Marco, but it is Damon who responds, his voice heated. She doesn't understand the Italian, but she's sure it's profane.

Kol keeps his rough grip on her until they are inside the plane. Elena looks around in awe, at the leather seats, large screen TV, and mini fridge. This makes her first class flight to London look like a cattle car. She sinks onto one of the leather couches, realizing just how fatigued she is. Damon plops down next to her, propping his feet up on coffee table. He puts his arm around her shoulder, and inspects Elena's, which is already starting to bruise from Kol's grip.

"You're hurt." He runs his fingers over the bruises. He throws a nasty glare at Kol who is fixing himself something at the bar, but he lets it go as Elena leans into him.

"I'm fine," she assures him. "I'm just tired." She rests her head on his shoulder and falls asleep before the plane even finishes taxiing.

* * *

Elena almost sobs with relief as they pull into the Salvatore driveway. It's mid-march March and she has been away from Virginia since December. Kol opens the door to the boarding house, gesturing for Elena and Damon to enter ahead of him. "Well here we are: Home sweet home."

She glances around the dusty foyer. Everything is the same, but yet so fundamentally different from how she left it. "I don't live here," Elena points out. She loves this house, but it isn't her home.

"You do now," Kol deadpans.

Elena turns to him with pleading eyes. "Kol, I haven't slept in my own bed in months."

Kol shrugs. "Not my problem. I want all of you under one roof where I can keep an eye on you. Mia will take you home to collect some of your things later. She should be here soon with Bonnie and Caroline."

"Why don't we all just move to the Gilbert house?" Damon suggests, noticing Elena's crushed expression. "There's plenty of room."

"No," Kol shoots down firmly.

Damon takes a step closer to Kol, placing a hand on his shoulder. To an outsider it might look like a friendly gesture, but Damon's jaw is clenched, his fists tight at his side. "I would reconsider," he states evenly, his eyes locked with Kol's.

Kol meets Damon's challenge head on with an amused curl to his lips. "You're forgetting what you are now, mate." There is nothing Elena can do but watch with horror as Kol grabs Damon by the throat and hurls him into the wall behind him. He hits the stucco wall with a resounding smack and crumples to the ground.

"I wouldn't try that again," Kol warns.

"What is wrong with you?" Elena bursts, she kneels down next to Damon. Her outrage is directed just as much at him as it is at Kol.

Kol only smirks. "The only reason I'm here babysitting is because my brother promised me a favour," he tells them. "But I could go back on that in a second if I decide it's worth it to me. Consider this your only warning." He strolls out of the room and up the stairs whistling lightly.

"Are you alright?" Elena inquires, trying to get a good look at Damon. He must have avoided taking the brunt of the hit in his head because he's conscious, his eyes filled with anger and humiliation. There's blood on his arm though; he must have cut it on the wall sconce. He struggles to sit up and pushes her away from him.

"It's nothing," he snaps.

"Let me look." She reaches out, trying to grab his hand. Damon twists from her grip and stands.

"Elena, just drop it," he calls over his shoulder, storming out of the room. A moment later, the slamming of his bedroom door echoes throughout the house. Elena bites back tears of anger and shock and makes her way to the living room. She wants to cry more when she sees how it is just the way the boys left it, down to the empty tumbler sitting on the table. _Definitely Stefan_, she thinks. Damon is downright pathological about using coasters. She sinks into one of the chairs and stares at the ceiling for some time.

She glances up some time later when she hears the front door open. A petite girl with a long black braid strolls in, glancing around critically. She's young, probably not much older than Elena, but she walks with the authority of someone much older.

Bonnie and Caroline follow her, each clutching a bag. Elena jumps off the couch and rushes towards them, wrapping her arms around both of them and holding them tightly.

"I've missed you both so much! Are you okay?" she asks, pulling back and getting a good look.

Bonnie sighs from exhaustion. "I'm alright, Elena. Look at you, you're human," she marvels with a sad smile that doesn't quite meet her eyes. "I missed you."

Elena eyes Caroline curiously. While she should look grief stricken, the blonde vampire looks immaculate. "Caroline? I'm so sorry about Tyler." She brushes her shoulder gently, comforting her.

Caroline smiles blankly. "Who?" she asks cheerfully.

Elena's eyes flick to Bonnie's in confusion.

"One of the Originals compelled her," Bonnie explains. "She's been like this since Mia brought her back."

"She wouldn't stop crying," Kol explains standing in the living room with a blood bag in hand. "_I_ compelled her on the way to the airport. I see it's working properly."

Elena glances at Caroline, then back to Kol. "What exactly did you compel her to do?"

"All I did was make her forget her little hybrid. It improved her mood a lot as you can tell." Elena takes an angry step towards Kol, her mouth ready to spew insults.

"Stop talking about me like I'm not here," Caroline demands as she lays a hand on Elena's shoulder. Elena closes her mouth and turns back to her friend. "I'm fine, Elena. Don't worry, okay?" Caroline tells her brightly. "Can I have Stefan's room?" she asks eagerly, changing the subject. "It has the best light in the house."

"It's all yours," Elena replies, distracted as Kol ushers Mia into the house, conversing in Italian. "C'mon, I'll help you guys get settled."

"So where are you sleeping?" Caroline asks her as she unpacks her bag. She is trying to be nonchalant, but Elena knows her better than that. Bonnie sits perched on Stefan's bed, impassively writing something on a scrap of paper from his desk.

"Um…" Elena balks at the loaded question, trailing off as she notices the piece of paper Bonnie is holding up.

_Act normal, we'll explain everything when we can _

Elena nods once and turns to Bonnie. "Take whatever room you want. I'm going to go talk to Damon real quick. He hit his head, long story." She gives her a significant look as she slips from the room.

Stopping in front of Damon's closed door, Elena discerns Patti Smith's throaty voice lilting from his top of the line stereo. She winces; she's known Damon long enough to know that Patti Smith, circa 1975, usually signifies he's in a mood.

Elena slips into the bedroom, closing the door behind her. Damon is lying on the bed with a bottle of bourbon balanced on his chest, staring up at the ceiling morosely. Elena strolls forward and anxiously perches herself on the edge of the bed, biting back all the words that want to come spewing out. She peers at him, trying to get a look at his injuries.

"I'm fine," he replies to her non-question curtly. "Pretty sure my entire body is bruised, but that's why they invented bourbon." He gives the bottle a jiggle.

Elena figures she might as well start this conversation at least trying to be positive. "Bonnie and Caroline are here, want to come say hi?"

His face darkens. "Not particularly."

Elena stands, his mood is even fouler than she expected. "Alright. I'm just going to go then."

"Don't leave on my account," he grumbles.

"Sulking isn't really a two person activity, Damon."

"Really, Elena? Sulking?"

Elena shrugs. "Lying in bed drinking and listening to Patti Smith is the Webster definition of sulking."

Damon sits up, propping himself up onto his elbows. "Don't patronize me."

Elena rolls her eyes, recognizing his transparent attempts to irk her. "I didn't come in here to fight."

"Didn't you?" he challenges.

Halfway to the door, Elena realizes this may be what Damon really needs. She turns back around. "Believe it or not, I didn't. I came to check on you because I know you've had an extremely rough day and I wanted to make sure you didn't have a concussion. But you're obviously gunning for a fight right now, so fine." She crosses her arms. "Want me to start? What the hell were you thinking, challenging Kol like that? You've always been reckless, but that's a new level of stupid."

Damon sits up and walks towards her, the bourbon sloshing in the bottle. "You're the one who wanted to go home."

"It sure as hell isn't worth _that_," Elena growls. "You can't be doing this kind of thing anymore Damon. God, you've been home an hour and you're already drunk and picking fights."

Damon eyes her, slinging back a sip of bourbon. "I see we're wearing our judgey pants today."

"Don't be such a dick. It's beneath you."

"Don't give me the patented 'you're better than this' speech. It's beneath _you_." He pauses, taking in her icy glare. "And lose the Katherine glare. It's not going to work."

Elena loses words for a second, her mouth forming an O of shock at his low blow. "Don't you dare compare me Katherine," she finally retorts with dignity.

Damon raises his eyebrows, challenging her. "If the stiletto fits," he quips. "Besides, I thought the two of you were best of friends now. Braiding hair, comparing Salvatore swaps. C'mon Elena, she's the sister you never had."

"You really _are_ better than this, Damon," she insists.

"Did you really think that making me a human again would make all the things you didn't like about me just go away, Elena?" he questions. And there it is; she knew this fight would come eventually, but his words still hit her harder than expected. "I hate to break it to you, but being a human doesn't make me an entirely different person anymore than being a vampire made you one. Fangs or not, this is what I am."

Elena straightens. "Yeah well, if you aren't careful, all your stupid, reckless self-destructive tendencies are going to get you killed for real this time."

Damon lets out a laugh. "My self-destructive tendencies? Last time I checked, _I_ wasn't the one who sacrificed my life for the quarterback was I? If Klaus wanted me dead, I'd be dead by now, Elena." His eyes flick to her, then away again quickly. "And as you so kindly pointed out, I am the opposite of dead."

"Yes, but Klaus isn't here, and Kol doesn't care."

Damon moves towards her until they are standing toe to toe. "What do you want to hear?" he asks, his eyes boring into hers, "That I screwed up? Would that make you happy?"

"Don't just tell me what you think I want to hear," Elena spits.

Damon steps back. "I don't know what to say to you then."

"Just tell me the truth," she pleads softly, "Whatever it is you're feeling about Kol or Katherine or being a human, whatever it is, just tell me. Don't just get drunk and pick a fight with me because it's easier than talking to me."

Damon sashays back to the bed and plops down. "Sorry. The feeling sharing portion of our evening has ended."

Elena eyes him carefully. He seems slightly less on edge before, as if he's worked something out of his system. Perhaps later he'll actually talk to her. "Fine," she submits, "Have a nice evening with your bourbon."

She turns on her heel and leaves the room, shutting the door quietly behind her.

Elena then finds Bonnie and Caroline in the kitchen trying to cobble together a human dinner. Or at least Bonnie is. Caroline sits perched on the counter sipping a blood bag and explaining why she thinks onions should not count as a food. Mia sits at the table in the corner, flipping through a magazine.

"Hey, there she is!" Caroline exclaims.

Elena pulls out a stool and takes a seat. "Sorry, I was talking to Damon. He says he'll see you guys tomorrow when he's more awake."

Caroline raises her eyebrows but surprisingly doesn't comment. "We were trying to figure out what to do for dinner."

Bonnie gestures to the fridge, "All I've found is a bottle of wine, two moldy onions and a bag of frozen peas. Want to order a pizza?"

Elena laughs. "I'm surprised they have that much. I don't think anyone has bought food in this house since I became a vampire."

"Pizza it is then."

"I'll order it," a voice sounds from the corner. Elena had forgotten Mia was even there.

"Y-you speak English?" Elena stammers, surprised.

Mia flips a page of her magazine, not bothering to look up. "I would hope so, given I was born and raised in Newark. You guys aren't allowed to have phones; tell me what you want and I'll order it."

The girls quickly agree on a large pepperoni and make their way to the living room with the wine while they wait for it to arrive.

"So how is humanity suiting Damon?" Caroline asks, perching herself on the edge of a chair by the fire.

"He's…he's adjusting," Elena replies, pouring a glass of wine and handing it to Bonnie. The witch takes it with a small smile and settles onto the couch next to Elena. "He sleeping right now. I don't think he got any rest on the plane."

"So what, are you two like back together now?"

"Caroline…" Bonnie warns. "Remember that conversation we had about Damon and being tactful?"

"I can't help it! And I'm sorry, the words Damon and tactful just don't belong in the same sentence."

"Yes, we're together now," Elena interrupts, cradling her glass. "Or back together, whatever you want to call it. It's complicated." She stares gloomily into her glass. Picking a fight with her is one thing. Hell, she might have even deserved the remark about expecting his more difficult qualities to just disappear, but if there is anything she can't accept, it's him comparing her to Katherine.

Caroline bites her lip. "Well it _is_ Damon. But for what it's worth, I'm sorry I called him a sociopathic narcissistic man slut."

Elena swears she hears a stifled giggle from the kitchen where Mia remains. "Thank you. I know this is hard for you, Care, but it means a lot that you're trying."

"Aw, what are friends for? Hey, I moved the TV into Stefan's room. Want to watch _Clueless_ after dinner?" Caroline asks, giving her a significant _we need to talk_ look.

Elena shots one back at her. "Of course," she says evenly.

As soon as the pizza arrives, the girls gather their food and head up to the bedroom.

On her way upstairs, Elena peeks into Damon's room. The music remains on, but Damon lies fully clothed on his bed. On the night stand next to him, the bottle of bourbon remains mostly full. Elena tiptoes inside quietly flicking off the stereo and throwing a blanket over him. Her anger abates slightly as she sees him this way, quiet and peaceful with those long eyelashes of his dark against his skin. She leans down and plants a kiss on his cheek. She's about to turn away when he grabs her hand. He doesn't say anything, just gives it a soft squeeze and lets it drop. She smiles, brushing a dark strand of hair off his face.

"Love you too," she whispers. "Get some sleep."

She flicks off the light and joins her friends at the end of the hall.

As soon as Caroline has the movie on, adjusting the volume so it's as loud as possible, she lets out a sigh of relief. "Oh thank God!" she cries, "I've been dying to tell you _so_ much!"

"Yeah, me too," Elena waves off hurriedly. "Why don't you guys start, though? What happened after I left?"

Unsurprisingly, Caroline cuts in before Bonnie can begin. "Okay, so after you left I was mostly just trying to keep Stefan together because he was seriously approaching a Lindsay Lohan level breakdown, and Damon left town with Jeremy not long after you did. Then right after Christmas, Damon just shows back up here with Jeremy, manages to convince Stefan to go find the cure with them and tells us we should leave town. I was ready to do it but—"

"Matt and I thought we should maybe we could try and un-dagger Rebekah," Bonnie interrupts, "But before we could get to her—"

"Klaus showed up all growly faced waaaay before he was supposed to and he had this creepy witch with him," Caroline continues. "I mean Damon told me we had at least two days and it was more like two _hours_! I don't even know how they even _got_ to the cure before him.

"But anyways Klaus compelled me to tell him everything I knew which basically consisted of 'Damon and Elena had sex' which he didn't really care about, but he was really interested to know that you were in London and that Damon took Stefan and Jeremy and went after the cure.

"And then he somehow got around Damon's compulsion on Matt and figured out where they went, so then we were _really_ screwed. Klaus compelled me to go to Italy with him, but when I was packing I remembered that I still had the vervain necklace you gave me when I was a human. I tried to give it to Matt, but Klaus took my phone and I couldn't get to him so I wound up leaving for Italy with it."

"Is Matt okay?" Elena interrupts.

"He's fine," Bonnie assures her, "He's really broken up about Tyler, but physically...he's fine. It was just the two of us after Klaus left, but he's managed to get Jeremy's vervain bracelet back from April so at least he has that at least. Luckily, Klaus doesn't seem to think he's much of a threat because he's a human, so he left him completely unguarded. But he…Klaus's witch did something to me, Elena. I haven't been able to use magic since they left."

"What?" Elena cries in disbelief. "No." She wraps her arms around her friend, holding her close. Bonnie pats Elena's arm awkwardly.

"It's okay. They're not gone forever. I can feel them, they're still there. They've just been bound so I can't use them. I think I can find a way around it."

"Really?" Elena pulls back. "What is it?"

"Do you remember that necklace you used to have? The one Stefan gave you?"

"Of course, why?"

"Well I remember Esther saying that the witch who made it was my ancestor. I might be able to use it as a talisman to unbind my powers. We were hoping Stefan might have it in here. That's why Caroline wanted this room."

Elena shakes her head. "As far as I know, it's in the cave where no vampires can get in. Rebekah was wearing it the night Esther tried to kill me. She pulled it off and flung it at me, but I'm pretty sure it's still there."

Bonnie leans back, pondering this. "Maybe Matt can get it. I don't think there's anyone watching him. If I can find a way to talk to him at school Monday without Mia or anyone in my way…"

"Have you guys been going to school?"

Caroline nods. "We've been trying to keep a low profile with all the Council stuff that happened. With all of us in Europe, they had a nice, quiet couple of weeks but...Mom is seriously worried and there's nothing she can do without bringing down the wrath of the Originals."

Elena gives her a sympathetic look, "I might have some good news on that front: Katherine managed to get away. Damon doesn't believe me, but I think she went to get help."

"Elena that's….that's the best news I've heard in a while." Caroline tosses her head, smiling widely. "And it involves Katherine. Who knew?" Elena cringes, trying not to think of all the ways she wants to string Katherine up and run her through with a broadsword multiple times.

"What else happened in Italy, Caroline?" she asks, trying to distance her thoughts from Katherine. "You seriously don't remember anything about Tyler?"

Caroline shakes her head sadly. "It's like I never met him. Bonnie showed me pictures of him and everything, but he's just…gone. I don't know if I saw him in Italy or not. Then I came back and Bonnie and Matt were asking about him and I just don't..."

"Mia told us all he was dead. Is it true Elena?" Bonnie asks, her voice filled with hope that Mia is lying.

Elena bows her head. "I wasn't there, but Damon is positive he heard him…die. I'm so sorry." She puts one hand over Bonnie's, the other on Caroline's. "I wish I knew more, but all I know is he was there and Klaus killed him. Damon seemed…reluctant on the details. Has anyone told Mayor Lockwood?"

Bonnie shakes her head. "Only Matt and I know. I didn't want to put her through it unless I was sure. She hasn't been asking questions because she thinks he's on the run from Klaus. Maybe...maybe it's better if she doesn't know."

Elena bites her lip. She wishes that were true, but she needs to know. "We can afford to wait, but someone has to tell her eventually. I'll..." She hesitates. "We should talk to Damon about what he remembers before we do anything."

Bonnie nods grimly.

"Elena, did you by any chance see Stefan?" Caroline cuts in curiously.

Elena hesitates. "Yes. But, Caroline, he's…he flipped the switch."

Caroline shakes her head, smiling. "No, he didn't, Elena. I managed to slip him my vervain necklace. He faked it before Klaus could compel him to."

Elena's eyes widen. "You mean, he's not really…"

"He's still there. I bet he's had a lot of the human stuff, but Stefan is still there, Elena."

"Why didn't you tell me before? I have to go tell Damon!" She moves to get off the bed, but Caroline stops her.

"Elena, you need to listen to me. We can't let Kol get suspicious, okay? That's why Bonnie and I waited so long to get you up here. It had to look natural, like we were just hanging out. You can tell Damon, he should know. But not until later, okay?"

Elena sinks back into the bed. Caroline is right. Not to mention, there's no reason to wake Damon up over it. "Fine."

"Tell us about you," Caroline insists, squeezing her hand. "What happened? Why did you leave? All I could find out when I was still in Italy was Klaus nabbed you in London and made you and Damon human again. I get you, but why would he turn _Damon _back?"

Elena takes a breath, reeling from all the questions. Why _would_ he turn Damon back? It's a question she has pondered for days with no answer. She fills Caroline and Bonnie in where she can with why she left, her time with Katherine, and finally, the last few weeks in Italy. They stare at her, open mouthed as she finally finishes.

"So you broke the sire bond?" Bonnie says in awe. "That's pretty amazing Elena, even if it was less than ideal circumstances."

"How is Damon handling all of this?" Caroline asks. "I mean he's never exactly been pro-human."

"He's..." Elena reaches for the wine and stops, realizing this essentially the same thing she was yelling at him for…or part of it anyways. "It hasn't been easy for him. I need to you to be nice to him. Please, Care?"

"Of course, I mean I'll try. I'm sure it's been really hard for him. I mean, I can't imagine going back now, much less after one-hundred and forty some years. How are you doing it so well?"

The answer flows off her tongue like honey. "Because I wanted this," she answers simply. "I will always regret how many people got hurt because of it, and if I had known that Stefan was going into league with Klaus to do it, I would have stopped him. But I can't say I miss it much." She looks at her friends as she elaborates. "I don't think there's any denying that I'll always have supernatural elements in my life. But I was never cut out to be a vampire."

Bonnie takes a ragged breath. "You know we love you either way."

Caroline puts a hand over hers. "And I should tell you, too, that I realize now I should have been more understanding about the sire bond. Neither of you asked for it."

"Thank you, Caroline." Elena glances out the window for a moment. "So what do we do now?" she asks.

Caroline shrugs and turns to the movie they're already halfway through. "We watch Alicia Silverstone fall in love with Paul Rudd?" she suggests.

Bonnie shakes her head. "Again? Seriously, Caroline. I know you like this movie, but I can't believe that with ten minutes to pack you actually brought it with you."

Caroline snickers. "I didn't bring it with me; I found it in the 'Elena Floorboard.'"

"The what?" Bonnie asks, puzzled.

Caroline grins and moves towards Stefan's dresser, kneeling next to it. "There's a loose floorboard in here where Elena hides all her girly stuff."

"Seriously?" Bonnie looks at her with mock disbelief.

Elena shrugs. "Damon kept eating all my chocolate. I had to hide it." She smiles faintly. "And…maybe I hid a couple of chick flicks in there, too, after he took a permanent marker to my DVD of _Pride and Prejudice_."

"Milky Way?" Caroline asks, tossing Bonnie one. Elena laughs lightly as Bonnie catches it. She knows her life is an absolute mess but somehow just forty minutes with her friends uninterrupted by hybrids, vampires or otherwise, gives her a wonderful sense of calm.

* * *

Elena wakes the following morning to a face full of blonde hair. She pulls back, confused for a moment at her surroundings. Caroline lies stretched out on one side of her, arms wrapped around one of Stefan's pillows and taking well over her share of the bed. On her other side, Bonnie is curled up, trying to stay on the bed. Elena sits up, rubbing her eyes at the bright morning sunlight streaming through the windows. She's woken in this bed plenty of times, but never quite like this. She wonders if Stefan would be amused by the strange turn of events. Damon certainly will be.

_Damon._

Elena's mind turns back to their fight the night before. She hadn't meant for it to be a real fight. She'd given into it because she knew he was trying to irk her and he just needed someone to care enough about him to argue with him. But somewhere along the way it became very, very real. Maybe he's right; maybe she was hoping too much that his more difficult tendencies would just evaporate. She sighs and slips out of the bed. There are so many things they haven't talked about yet, things they've been afraid to touch in their former close quarters. It's time now, though.

She glances down at herself; unable to believe that she has been distracted enough to spend this much time in this grimy, disgusting dress…much less without a word about it from Caroline. Quietly, she gathers some spare clothes she keeps in the bottom of Stefan's dresser drawer. She never had a chance to move them before she left town; everything happened so fast with the break up and things progressing with Damon and the sire bond on her mind. She showers in one of the spare rooms and scurries downstairs. The bottom floor of the house is deserted with the exception of Mia sitting in the living room, her nose buried in a copy of _Great Expectations_.

Elena strolls past her, heading for the front door. She doesn't have her car here, but she knows there is a spare key to the Camaro in the drawer of the table in the hall. Damon will be pissed she took his car; he hates anyone driving it but himself. But then again, he's already angry with her; she might as well take the Camaro for a spin while she's at it. She rummages around, finding the key and screams in shock as she turns to find Mia standing right next to her.

"Jesus Christ!" She brings a hand to her chest. "I'm not a vampire anymore. Make a noise or something."

Mia eyes the key in her hand. "I hope you weren't thinking of going somewhere."

Elena crosses her arms. "And if I was?"

"I would have to tell you that Kol says none of you are to go anywhere without an escort."

"You're kidding me."

"Nope."

Elena sighs heavily. "I was going to head home and grab a few things. Would you like to come with me, Mia?" she utters with forced politeness.

Mia smiles. "I'd love to." She strolls towards the door. "And I'd abandon any illusions you have about driving," she calls over her shoulder, jingling the key Elena had in her hand seconds ago.

Yep, Damon is going to kill her.

* * *

They make it to the Gilbert house and back in less than an hour with the Camaro thankfully in one piece. Elena hates inviting Mia into her home, but Mia made it very clear that either she comes in, or Elena doesn't go at all. Elena has to hand it to Mia, though: as far as compelled babysitter vampires go, she isn't half bad. She merely lurks quietly while Elena packs her things, neither taunting her nor forcing her to make conversation. Back at the boarding house, Elena finds everyone else awake and seated at the dining room table.

Caroline is studying her nails while Bonnie and Damon concentrate on their cereal as if it is the most interesting thing they've ever seen. Kol sits at the head of the table with his feet propped up and head thrown back. Elena wonders if Esther fed her children obnoxious levels of arrogance in their morning porridge, or if they just banded together one day and decided they were the most exceptional psychotic beings on the planet.

"Excellent," Kol grins as Elena walks through the door with Mia behind her. "Now that everyone is here, we can have a chat about the ground rules."

Elena rolls her eyes and drops her bag in the corner. She hopes Katherine comes back with help soon. Possibly with every Slayer ally she can find. Elena seats herself at the table across from Damon and reaches for a bowl, filling it with cereal. Damon refuses to meet her eyes, but she can feel his gaze on her as soft and heavy as a blanket.

"The rules are quite simple," Kol continues. "No phones, no internet, no iPads. You will not leave this house without an escort. You will do as we tell you or you will regret it. I'm aware that you still can't be compelled, Witch, so I wouldn't try anything."

"How are we supposed to do our homework with no internet?" Caroline complains.

Kol shrugs. "Students managed for centuries without the internet. You'll survive. And you can still use the computer. Just know that I crushed all the modems and cancelled the Wifi."

Damon glares at him, but bites back his anger. He destroys his own possessions at an alarming rate, but certainly doesn't like others to do the same.

"How long are we stuck under house arrest?" Elena asks, pouring milk into her cereal.

"You, Elena? I think we can both pretty safely say forever. But when my brother returns, he might be willing to strike a bargain with the rest of you. For the time being, though, he wants you all here and protected."

"Are we done here?" Damon inquires irritated. Kol gives him a curt nod. Damon stands, holding his half empty cereal bowl in his hand and strolls into the kitchen without saying anything else. Bonnie quirks an eyebrow at her, but Elena just shrugs, finishing her cereal.

"Great," Caroline mutters sarcastically. "Well I'm hungry, so..." She blurs away, presumably downstairs for a blood bag. Kol shoots to his feet. He pauses for a moment, listening, and then sits back down.

Elena stalls in the dining room, giving Damon another twenty minutes before she treads upstairs with her bag. She isn't sure yet where she's sleeping, so she tosses it in one of the spare rooms without thinking about it.

His bedroom is empty, so she flicks on some music and lies down on the bed to wait. She loves this soft gigantic bed. She can't believe they only had one night in it together.

She hears the door click open and shut. Damon pads across the room. She feels the bed shift next to her as he sits, then lays down next to her.

They lie in silence for a minute, side by side. "Contrary to popular belief," he finally begins. "I don't actually like fighting with you."

"Well you could've fooled me."

"Elena, I—"

She rolls over to face him. "You compared me to Katherine, Damon. Do you understand how that is for me? To have you tell me I'm like _her_. Especially right after she compelled you and made you forget God knows what?"

"Elena, I wasn't..." He lets out a frustrated breath, remaining on his back.

"I get that you were angry and hurt and we needed to have that fight," Elena continues, "But you can't just compare me to Katherine every time you think I'm being a bitch. I would _never_ throw Stefan in your face like that."

He finally rolls over to face her. "You're right. Elena, I'm sorry. Okay? When I said that, I didn't mean to compare you to her. I was just lashing out. You are not her."

"I know that," Elena replies, her eyes flashing. "But when you do things like that, I wonder if _you_ do. I'm not perfect. I've done some things that I'm not proud of. But those actions are mine. I own them. Not her. And if you can't accept that, we have a big problem."

He takes one of her hands. "Of course I know that. You're reading more into this than you have to. I was drunk and I was mad at everything and I just needed someone else to be, too."

"Well it worked," she says bitterly.

"I know. I'm sorry."

"Look, I don't expect you to be an entirely different person. But you have to be more careful." Her eyes plead with him. "Kol is not worth dying over, Damon."

He doesn't say anything, just looks at her with dark, haunted eyes. "I don't expect this to be easy for you," Elena continues. "But you have to talk to me, okay? I know it isn't your favourite thing to do, but at least try, alright?" She lays a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"I'll try," he replies softly, putting his hand over hers.

"Thank you. There's something else you should know. Caroline told me Stefan..."

Damon puts a finger over Elena's lips, cutting her off. "She already told me this morning. We had a...conversation. Well, Caroline did most of the talking, but I was there."

Elena raises her eyebrows. "Are you two, like, BFF's now?"

"No. But I think we can manage to not kill each other."

"I guess that's progress."

He wraps an arm around her waist. "You didn't come to bed last night," he murmurs into her hair. "I knew you were pissed, but it was weird to wake up alone."

"I fell asleep with Bonnie and Caroline in Stefan's room," she confesses. She can feel his laugh reverberating from his chest. It's nice to hear him laugh.

"Do you want me to stay in here? I mean, this whole being forced to live together thing is really...soon."

He leans back smiling, his hands brushing up the side of her arms. "Are you kidding? It's pretty much the only perk."

"I'll take that as a yes, then."

He plants a series of soft kisses up her throat, hesitating right over her mouth. "If you want some space though..." he teases.

Elena grabs his head, pulling him down to her lips in response.

* * *

**A/N: I'm so sorry for delay in this chapter everyone! I know it was kind of a slow one, but it's a necessary transition chapter. We have lots more action and some Buffy people coming up very soon, hang in there : ) Thank you to everyone who has read/reviewed/followed etc so far, you are all lovely. Special thank you to Skye Venomatic for the beta and encouragement. Chapter 9 is nearly done and coming soon.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

"I hate high school," Elena groans as she lets her bag slide off her shoulder onto the floor and plops down on the couch next to Damon. He looks up from his book with a grin.

"Hi honey," he replies with a sarcastic smile, "How was your first day of school? Did you learn lots?"

Elena glares at him. "Caroline compelled them to let me back in," she tells him, "But wasn't worth it. I literally have no idea what's going on."

Damon sets his book down on the coffee table. "I'm trying to remember what decade it was that people started misusing the word literally," he jokes. Elena scowls and Damon leans forward, planting a kiss on the furrow between her eyebrows.

"I don't even know why I should bother graduating at this point," she exhales, letting herself fall sideways into his lap. It's been an exhausting day of probing questions and pity-filled looks. She can barely remember basic French, much less verb conjugations and the quadratic formula.

At least Bonnie managed to get a message to Matt to find the necklace.

Damon runs his fingers through her hair. "It's okay," he assures her. "I'll help you catch up. Before you know it you'll be off at college spouting more intellectual bullshit than Stefan."

Elena shifts onto her back rather than her side. "Will you go with me?"

"I'll come visit you."

"Don't you want to go too? Fresh start and all that?"

Damon makes a disgruntled face. "I already went to college."

"Feeding on sorority girls doesn't count, Damon," she teases.

"Hey! I'll have you know I did two whole terms at William and Mary before I dropped out."

"You went to William and Mary?" She asks in disbelief.

"I did. But I didn't make it very long before I got bored and dropped out. Went to Europe with George Lockwood instead." He leans back, smiling. "Boy was my father pissed."

"You could go back if you wanted to," Elena urges.

"Academics are not my forte, Elena. But I'll come visit." He smiles. "Someone has to protect those frat boys from you."

Elena laughs thinking of the frat party they went to and all people she fed on. "Yeah that ship has _sailed_."

Damon leans over and reaches for her bag. "C'mon, I'll help you catch up. What have we got here?" He pulls out one of her books. "History? Been there, lived that." He tosses the book aside. "Algebra—" he makes a face and throws it on top of the history book with a clack, "—Well no one needs it anyways. And I have a hundred and seventy two years to back me up. French, your accent is atrocious, but your kissing is A plus." He waggles his eyebrows suggestively. "And English Lit—" he pulls out a copy of Wuthering Heights, "—You've already read this a thousand times, so that should be a cinch. And what's this," he questions with mock suspense as he pulls out a crumpled flyer. "Another Decade Dance on Friday? _Dress like your favourite 80's icon!_" he exclaims in falsetto.

Elena sits up, snatching it out of his hand. "I'm not going. Caroline is insane if she thinks someone won't wind up dead."

"It's Mystic Falls," Damon quips, "You shouldn't let that stop you."

Elena raises her eyebrows. "Is that my extremely age inappropriate boyfriend asking me to the dance?"

He brings his arms up to his head and leans back smirking. "Nope."

"Fine," Elena scowls, "If you're not going, I'm not going either."

"Elena you should go," he pleads, "Do something normal and fun with your friends. If I go, it will just be weirder for you."

Elena sighs.

He has a point; people are already convinced she broke up with Stefan as a result of his raging drug problem. They'll never shut up if she shows up there with his older brother. It isn't that she cares what people think, it's just that all the questions and raised eyebrows and snide comments are already so emotionally draining day after day.

And then there's all the questions about Jeremy on top of that.

She doesn't really want to go to the dance at all, but Caroline has been throwing all her frustration since she returned from Italy into planning the stupid thing, and Elena is going to _have_ to go.

* * *

Friday afternoon, despite her protests, Elena finds herself standing in the attic as Caroline turns the old trunks and boxes upside-down for costume material.

"Can't I just be one of the Bangles?" Elena complains. Caroline ignores her and continues digging through the attic boxes. She pulls out a pink floor length dress, appraises it for a second, and throws it at Elena smiling widely.

"No. You're Molly Ringwald in _Sixteen Candles_."

"Seriously..." Elena whines. Her friend only sticks her tongue out at her.

"Elena, you're going. I'm going to make you a crown of flowers for your hair and you're going to look stunning." Caroline turns to Bonnie, with a hand on her hip, the other clutching a blue dress. "What do you think of Whitney Houston?"

"How come she gets a choice?" Elena complains.

Caroline doesn't even turn around. "Try the dress on Elena," she demands. "Bonnie?"

"I'd rather go pants-less as Tom Cruise," Bonnie says monotonously.

Caroline grimaces. "Please tell me you're kidding."

Bonnie holds up a red dress instead. "I was thinking more like Diana Ross." Caroline thinks for a moment and nods.

"I like it. Elena, does Damon have a plaid shirt? He can be Jake Ryan to your Samantha Baker."

Elena snorts, pulling the dress over her head. "I highly doubt it."

"Maybe he can borrow one of Stefan's," she suggests.

Elena rolls her eyes. "Yeah, good luck with that one. He's not coming."

"It's a decade dance, Elena!"

"I have to side with Damon for once," Bonnie agrees. "I mean who wants to relive the 80's more than once?"

Caroline huffs. "We are going to go to the dance and we are going to have fun dammit!" she cries. She looks over Elena's dress critically. "I think that'll work. There are some fake violets in one of the guest rooms; I can make a crown out of that."

Elena rolls her eyes, but relents. "What are you going as?" she asks, surveying the dress in the mirror. She doesn't look anything like Molly Ringwald, but she doesn't look too bad either.

Caroline grins widely and holds up an old corset and a mini-skirt. "I'm going to be Madonna," she answers proudly. "C'mon, we need to go do our hair." She ushers the girls out of the attic.

"Bonnie, have you had any luck with..." Elena spit balls. She brings a hand to the plain pendant necklace she's wearing, trying to drop a hint about the one Matt retrieved from the cave for her.

Bonnie shakes her head. "I'm still working on it. I can feel it, though; I'm going to break through soon."

The girls retire to Stefan's room in a cloud of hairspray. Elena smiles thinking about Stefan's expression if he could see what has become of his bedroom. Caroline's shoes and clothes lay draped across every surface, her homework and magazines scattered across his desk. She hopes he's okay wherever he is with Klaus, that whatever he's doing, he hasn't had to hurt too many people.

It takes a frustrating two hours to get Elena's hair arranged to Caroline's satisfaction and another two to tease Caroline and Bonnie's out properly.

"We look ridiculous." Elena comments, surveying the three of them framed in the mirror.

"We look hot!" Caroline insists.

Bonnie snorts. "Can you imagine what Jeremy would say, Elena?"

A painful smile tugs at her lips; her brother would be doubled over in laughter looking at the three of them. She misses him so much. Wherever he is, she hopes he is alright, that he's healthy and breathing and eating and not alone.

"Hey." Bonnie touches her arm. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you sad."

Elena tosses her head. "It's alright. You miss him too." She sniffs.

Bonnie touches Elena's face, fixing where her mascara has smudged a bit. "There you go." She wraps her friend in a hug. "We'll find him, Elena," she whispers, "As soon as I get my magic back." She pats her back affectionately and pulls away. "Ready to face the music?'

Elena grimaces, letting Bonnie take her arm. "Bring on the Wang Chung."

"What, no cone bra?" Damon asks Caroline, his eyes shining with mirth as the three girls traipse into the living room.

"It's against the dress code," Caroline explains primly. "The former Miss Mystic Falls _has_ to follow the dress code."

Damon pours himself a drink. "You're wearing that corset all wrong."

"How would you know?" Caroline accuses, her hands on her hips.

Damon gives her a wicked grin. "I know my way around a corset."

"You're disgusting," Caroline scowls.

Damon merely tips his drink towards her.

Elena rolls her eyes at their antics; they've been like this for days. She thinks it might be Damon's manifestation of missing Stefan.

"What are you supposed to be?" Damon asks, eying Elena up and down. "You look hot, but I'm just...confused."

"She's Molly Ringwald in _Sixteen Candles_!" Caroline exclaims as if this is obvious.

"Yeah, I've never seen that."

"God, what were you doing in the 80's?"

Damon smirks. "Not watching girly teen movies." He fingers one of the fake violets in Elena's hair. "You look great; the flowers are a nice touch."

"Thank you."

"Have fun tonight. Don't let the quarterback get any ideas," he teases.

Elena rolls her eyes and kisses his cheek. "I'll be home early."

The girls head out the door with Mia who, despite Caroline's constant urging, refused to dress up.

The dance is exactly as Elena expected, too warm and filled with loud, over excited freshman; at least seventy percent of which decided to go the _Risky Business_ route. She's glad to almost be done with high school; at this point, it holds very little excitement for her anymore.

"Hey guys," Matt sidles up to them dressed in jeans, a white t-shirt and a vest. "Ferris Beuller, what do you think?"

"Thank god you're wearing pants!" Caroline exclaims.

Matt laughs. "I aim to please. But you used to say the opposite," he winks.

Caroline rolls her eyes. "Yeah those days are long gone."

Elena lets Bonnie drag her out on the dance floor while Caroline spins with Matt. Mia sits at a table, watching them like a hawk.

The girls dance, taking turns with Matt. Elena tries to enjoy herself, but everything just feels wrong. Jeremy should be sulking by the punch table or letting Bonnie force him to dance, not trapped somewhere in Italy. Instead of Mia, Damon and Alaric should be standing around watching over them, bored and slightly drunk. She thinks it's funny that her idea of a normal high school dance formerly included her current vampire boyfriend and pseudo vampire-hunter almost-step-uncle making sure no one was murdered while she danced with her vampire ex-boyfriend.

She sees Matt grin at something over her shoulder. He spins her, and she finds herself face to face with Damon.

"What are you doing here?" she exclaims, beaming.

"You looked so miserable when you left the house," he slides an arm around her waist and spins her so her back is to his chest. "I figured the least I could do was suffer through it with you, so I bribed Kol with my best bourbon."

Elena winces. "This is so not worth that."

Damon spins her out and dips her, bringing his mouth close to hers. "I don't know about that. I do, however, draw the line at dressing up."

"This would be more fun at home," she says smiling against his mouth. Then she kisses him and everything feels right again, anchored. She knows people are staring—she can even hear their whispers—but she doesn't care. She's just glad he's _here_.

She grins against him as the song changes.

_"Life is a mystery, everyone must stand alone, I hear you call my name and it feels like home." _

Damon rolls his eyes at the sappy lyrics, but pulls her up, bringing her close.

"Oh c'mon. I know you like this song," she teases. "The whole thing is one giant innuendo."

His eyes flash suggestively

"What _were_ you doing in the 80's anyways?" She asks, her lips to his ear. "You followed Madonna on tour, did you?"

Damon makes a face and spins her out, then draws her in again. "I did a little bit of everything—none of which involved Madonna, thank God. I left New York City in '81 and spent some time in Europe. In '85, I got chased out of Russia by some angry comrades and wound up spending the rest of the decade in South Africa."

"Fighting apartheid?" Elena jokes.

"A bit," Damon answers seriously. "I figured I ought to balance out the time I served as a Confederate soldier."

Elena doesn't say anything; she just leans over and kisses him again.

"Mmm," he smiles as she pulls away. "You're right; this would be more fun at home."

The song ends, but the two stand in each other's arms.

"Thirsty?" Damon asks. Elena nods. "Go sit," he tells her, "I'll bring us a drink." He waggles his eyebrows. "I know which locker Alaric used to hide the whiskey in. I bet it's still there; want to liven things up?"

Elena socks his arm playfully. "You are the worst influence ever. Seriously, I can't believe they even let you in this place."

Damon gives her his patented flirty-eyed look as if to say, _your point?_

She rolls her eyes, "Un-spiked punch please."

He kisses the top of her head. "Be right back."

Elena makes her way across the room towards the tables. She is almost there when she hears a low hum. Something snaps and the lights suddenly cut out, leaving the room in total darkness. A few people shriek in shock, followed by murmurs of laughter. Elena scans the room frantically for Damon, unable to make out more than a series of dark shapes.

"Caroline?" she calls out in a barely audible whisper. A moment later, she feels a reassuring tap on her shoulder. She breathes a sigh of relief as she catches the familiar scent of Caroline's shampoo. Caroline grasps her hand, tugging her towards what she assumes is an exit.

There's a bang and an ear splitting scream. And suddenly, everything is chaos. She loses her grip on Caroline, finding herself caught in a storm of people running in all directions. Some of them scream, while others merely shout in confusion. Caught in the tide, Elena searches for something, anything, in the darkness that is familiar enough to give herself bearings.

She keeps stride with the people around her, stumbling over tables and other students. She tries not to step on anyone without falling herself either; she's survived too much to be trampled to death at a high school dance.

The surge squeezes tightly around her before disbanding, and Elena realizes she's out of the gym. It's still dark, but with her eyes adjusted she can tell she is in the cafeteria. The light from the parking lot seeps in, giving the room a gloomy glow. People push past her, making their way outside. Some of the students are nursing bloody noses or are cradling hurt limbs, but no one seems seriously injured. Elena wants to believe that this is just a run of the mill accident, but reminds herself that "accidents" don't exist in Mystic Falls.

Elena feels a familiar tingle in her spine; she hates this room for obvious reasons, but instinct tells her not to leave the building. She skirts her way around the crowd of people making their way out the door and heads the opposite direction towards the lockered hallway.

Her footsteps echo in the deserted hallway. She moves slowly, listening to every sound her human ears can pick up. There is a murmur down the corridor, near Alaric's old classroom. Elena takes another tentative step into the dark corridor. She moves quickly, trying to cover as much ground as possible. Her foot catches on something and she tumbles, her hands flying out to catch her. They land in warm liquid. She immediately pulls them back, repulsed before she even recognizes it. She might be a human now, but her nose still knows that scent anywhere.

_Blood. _

She grimaces, holding back her shriek and gropes for the person she stumbled over, hoping that they are still alive. Her hands run over them, trying to find an arm—a throat—to take a pulse. Her hands land on what she thinks is a torso. She tries to fumble her way up, towards their throat, knowing already it is probably too late. She doesn't feel or hear a single breath. It's when she feels the hole in their chest that she finally lets out a scream.

"Shhh," Caroline whispers as she pulls Elena up gently. "Elena, it's me." Elena sighs with relief.

"Caroline, there's someone..."

"I know. Super vision, remember? It's Mia. Someone ripped her heart out." Elena bites her lip; she didn't hate Mia.

"What the hell is going on?" Elena hisses. "Do you know where Damon and Bonnie and Matt are?"

"Matt went home before the lights cut out. I have no idea where Bonnie and Damon are, but—"

Caroline stops in the middle of her sentence. Elena can feel her suddenly tense, as if she heard something. "Elena, get to Alaric's classroom and barricade the door."

"Caroline—"

"Elena, I mean it." Caroline puts an arm on her friend's shoulder and gives her a rough shove. "Just keep walking exactly the way you're facing. Elena, go!"

"Caroline, I'm not going to—"

There's a sudden high-pitched shriek as the PA system goes haywire, Elena drops to her knees, covering her ears. A moment later, it stops, and Elena stands, her ears ringing. Caroline is gone, but a clatter echoes down the hall as someone over turns a trashcan. Elena whips around, trying to pinpoint the source of the noise. She hears a grunt, then the sound of someone thrown up against the lockers. The lights flicker for a moment and Elena can make out Caroline, a mere blur of blonde, facing off with a dark-haired woman. The lights go out again, sending them back into darkness.

She follows the sounds of the fight down the corridor, into one of the other classrooms. She can hear desks clattering as they over turn.

"_Bonjour_," a mechanical voice rings out cheerfully. "_Bonjour, bonjour, bonjour_."

"Take that!" Caroline yells and Elena realizes she is in the French classroom, hitting an attacker with Madame Pichard's rather large talking bear.

Between the sounds of broken glass, clattering desks, and her knowledge of the building, Elena gropes her way through the dark to the French classroom. Light from the well-lit football field outside streams into the room, revealing the outlines of the two women squaring off. Caroline stands against the wall, just feet from the doorway. Her fangs glisten in the minimal light, her stance ready to lunge. A series of over turned desks separates her from the dark haired woman who eyes Caroline, poised with a stake.

The whole building shakes and the fire alarm starts to sound. The red and blue emergency lights flicker, throwing strange coloured shadows across the room. The woman, attempting to take advantage of the momentary distraction, springs at Caroline. Elena doesn't stop to think, she throws herself in front of her friend. The woman moves with speed beyond the average human, but realizes too late that someone has come between her and her prey. The stake misses Elena's heart by inches, ripping into her lower abdomen instead. Elena falls backwards, collapsing into Caroline who catches her by the elbows and lowers her to the floor.

The dark haired woman drops her stake with a clatter, and rushes towards them.

"Elena?" Caroline frantically as she grabs her head roughly and holds out her dripping wrist. "Elena!" Before she can bring herself to drink, Elena is ripped from Caroline's arms. She doubles over in pain as Kol grabs her around the waist and jumps up onto Madame Pichard's desk.

"Let's play a little game, shall we?" Kol yells over the wail of the fire alarm. He keeps Elena upright with his arm around her waist. Elena fights to remain conscious as her blood drips onto a pile of graded quizzes. She wonders absently if she failed that one too. "Call off your witch, Slayer, or we're going to find out how long it takes for the doppelganger to bleed out."

All the glass in the room shatters. Elena ducks her head as flecks from the fluorescent light above her rain down upon them, embedding into her back. She barely sees the Slayer grab Caroline through the blood streaming from her scalp over her eyes.

"You kill her and I'll kill your lackey," the woman threatens, holding a stake to Caroline's heart.

"I'm not anyone's lackey!" Caroline protests, struggling against the Slayer's strength.

Kol only laughs. "Go ahead; kill her. She's of no consequence to me."

"Please don't," Elena slurs, barely able to speak. "She's my friend. Please, don't kill her."

"You won't let Elena die," Caroline attempts to bargain with Kol. "Klaus will destroy you."

"He'd have to find me first. What will it be, Slayer? Will you call off your witch, or will you have her human blood on your hands?"

The fire sprinklers come on, showering them all with disgusting, dingy water. Still no one moves.

"That's not my witch," the Slayer yells.

"No, it's yours," someone yells, barely audible over the piercing shriek of the fire alarm. The building shakes again. Suddenly, the fire alarm shuts off, leaving a scream hanging in resounding silence. Elena feels her head drop, barely conscious. Her vision has blurred from the blood loss to the point she can barely see.

"Let Elena go, Kol," a calm, familiar voice demands. "Faith, let go of Caroline too please. She's on our side."

Faith reluctantly lets go of Caroline, but Kol's grip on Elena's waist tightens. "Why should I, Elijah? Unlike the rest of you pathetic Petrova worshipping idiots, I am perfectly happy to let the line end with her."

Elena can't quite see Elijah, but she can hear the anger behind his even voice. "It's over, Kol. I've taken out all your back-up. There are four of us against one of you. And if you let Elena die, I guarantee you will spend all eternity in a box."

Kol suddenly shoves Elena off the desk and springs to the floor. Thankfully, Caroline's quick reflexes save her. "Drink, Elena," she demands, shoving her wrist into Elena's mouth. Using one arm to prop up Elena, Caroline uses the other to tilt one of the remaining desks over, knocking the glass onto the floor. Elena drinks until Caroline eases her onto the desk, holding her up gently. Slowly, her breathing settles and her pain recedes slightly. Her vision begins to sharpen again and she takes in the addition of a woman with dark red hair leaning over Bonnie who is slumped on the floor, the glass cleared away in a perfect circle around her. From behind, Elena hears the sounds of Elijah and Kol caught in a struggle.

"Is Bonnie okay?" Elena manages to ask.

"She was playing with magic shouldn't have been messing with," the red haired woman explains. "She lost control trying to channel me and I had to knock her out before she brought down the whole building around us. But she'll be fine."

There are sounds of a struggle just beyond Elena's line of sight, then Kol suddenly hits the wall in front of her, pinned by his brother with enough froce to send Madame Pichard's bulletin board of French verbs and cartoon animals ricocheting across the room.

"I have some questions for you, Kol," Elijah states, a dagger dangling casually in his free hand. "Answer them and I might be persuaded not to run you through with this. Refuse, and I will personally see to you spending the next few centuries in a coffin. Your decision."

Kol smirks. "You? The champion of family honour stooping to Niklaus's level? I don't believe it for a second brother."

Elijah's grip tightens. "It is _because_ of our brother that I have to. Do you realize what he is planning, Kol? There is more at stake here than our family. Tell me, where is Rebekah?"

"Nik daggered her, not me," he insists defensively.

"I didn't ask who daggered her, Kol," Elijah growls. "I asked where she is."

"I moved her into one of the tunnels; didn't want one of _them_ un-daggering her." Kol nods a head towards Caroline and Elena.

"Where is Niklaus?" Elijah demands.

"He's somewhere in the Urals. He took Stefan Salvatore with him and left _me_ to babysit the doppelganger." Elena detects a hint of jealousy in his answer.

"Where is he storing Elena's blood? Does he have it with him?"

Kol hesitates and Elijah grabs his head, slamming his head against the wall. "What did he promise you? You wouldn't be playing his lackey without something in return." His voice softens. "If you tell me, I might be able to help you."

Kol grimaces in his brother's grip. "Italy. He's built himself a little fortress on an island off the coast of _Marina di Camerota_."

"What did he promise you, Kol?" Elijah asks, his hand on his brother's throat.

"Hybrids," he chokes. "He told me he had found a way to make them faster and stronger than ever, and he promised me a few of them."

Elijah eyes him carefully. "How?"

"I don't know," Kol replies, trying to push his brother off. Elijah grabs him firmly and grips his wrist tightly. Even from where she sits, Elena can here the bones snap.

"That's not all, though, is it?" Elijah snarls.

"Adeline," Kol finally relents. "She's not dead, Elijah. He told me she wasn't dead. I was going to use the hybrids to find her."

Elijah sighs heavily and releases his brother. "You believed him? You're more naive than Rebekah if you think for a second he wasn't lying to you."

Kol steps back, adjusting his clothes. "I have nothing to lose."

"What about your honour? You have seen what he is willing to do; do you have no sense of morality, Brother?"

Kol sneers at his brother. "You talk of honour, Elijah, but you know nothing of it. If I learned how to live from anyone, it was you and Nik; I watched the two of you tear apart an entire town for the love of one stupid girl. And then I watched you promise each other always and forever, only to go back and do it again. I was willing to do whatever it took for the sake of finding Adeline, but if you think I'm going to stand here and watch this a third time, you're mistaken."

"Go then," Elijah says wearily. "Leave now and I won't dagger you. If Adeline really is alive, I will help you find her. But interfere further and you'll regret it."

Kol is gone in seconds.

"What the hell is going on?" Caroline asks from where she holds Elena up on the desk. Elena struggles to move, testing the organs that are still re-knitting themselves together. Caroline puts a hand on her shoulder, forcing her to stay still.

"Consider this a rescue, Caroline," Elijah replies. "Elena, are you alright?"

Elena nods once, breathing heavily. "Yeah, I just need a minute. Seriously, what is happening? Did Katherine send you?"

Elijah glances outside the broken window; a crowd has gathered on the football field. "In a sense," he answers vaguely. "Given my brother's proclivities, I've had an alliance of sorts with one of the Slayers for a few years now. When she called me in December and said the two vampire doppelgangers had shown up in London asking for help and then promptly disappeared, I came here immediately only to find the Salvatore's were gone as well. We've been looking for all of you for months, but Niklaus seems to have found a witch to hide him magically. When Katerina showed up two days ago in Prague, it was a lucky break indeed. Faith and I—along with Willow—are here to help you." Elijah glances around the room. "You seem to be missing a Salvatore. Where is Damon?"

Elena shakes her head, worried. "I don't know. We were separated when the lights went out."

"Does anyone have a phone?" Caroline asks. "I can call my Mom. She can deal with Mia, and if Damon's outside, I'd bet money he found her first thing."

Elijah pulls his phone from his pocket and hands it to her. Caroline dials and puts the phone on speaker.

"Mom, it's me," she announces as soon as Liz picks up.

"Caroline where are you?" Liz asks anxiously.

"I'm still in the school. Are you outside?"

"Yes. Caroline, you need to get out of there; someone is claiming they heard gunshots and they're talking about calling in a SWAT team."

"There were never any guns; it's all vampires," Caroline explains. "I can hear a crowd outside, though. Can you clear them out? None of us are really in a state to come busting out of here in front news cameras."

Elena glances down at herself; she's covered in blood, bits of glass and drenched in skunky sprinkler water. The others are less bloody, but are still worse for wear.

There's murmuring in the background. "Is Elena with you?" Liz asks. "Please tell me she's with you, because Damon just punched one of my deputies trying to get inside." Elena breathes a sigh of relief, Caroline squeezes her shoulder gently.

"I'm right here," Elena responds. "So is Bonnie."

"We've got a dead vampire in the hallway though," Caroline explains.

Liz sighs heavily. "Stay where you are and I'll call you when I get the area cleared."

"What about the SWAT team?"

"I'll figure something out."

She hangs up the phone with a click. Caroline turns to Elijah. "So, I guess we just wait."

Elijah leans against the wall.

"So what exactly happened tonight?" Elena asks. "Who cut the lights?"

"That was an accident," Willow volunteers. "Your friend here—" she nods towards Bonnie, "—sensed my magic when I arrived and automatically presumed I was a threat. When she couldn't get enough power to stop me on her own, she tried to channel mine and well...she completely lost control."

"I thought she didn't have her powers back?" Elena says, looking from Caroline, to Bonnie and Willow, "She said Klaus's witch bound them. She's been trying to break through it all week."

"Well, she certainly managed it tonight," Willow quips. "She's not the first person to try and destroy her high school, though, trust me."

"Why did you attack me?" Caroline reels on Faith.

"I thought you were part of the vampire bodyguard squad," Faith explains carelessly. "I was supposed to take them out."

"You shouldn't have been so haphazard and reckless," Elijah reprimands. "You staked a human you're supposed to be protecting."

Faith straightens, her eyes filled with challenge. "Don't lecture me, Original Boy. Buffy might have a soft spot for you vamps, but I'm only here because she insisted I help."

"Enough," Willow cuts in, "Faith, you made an honest mistake in going after Caroline, but you should be more careful."

"Especially given Elena's tendency to throw herself in front of people in danger," Caroline contributes. She stiffens, hearing a noise. "Mom and Damon are here," she says after a second.

Elijah nods, acknowledging he heard them as well, and moments later Damon comes crashing in to the room, flashlight in hand. His boots make a crunching sound on all the broken glass. Caroline steps back, allowing him to go straight to Elena. "Are you alright?" His lip curls as he sees how much blood she's covered in. "What the hell happened?"

"I'm alright, I—"

"She came between me and a stake," Caroline interrupts. "She was pretty badass."

Damon glares at her, taking Elena by the shoulder.

"I'm fine," Elena insists, giving Damon a reassuring smile.

"You have got to stop trying to get between Caroline and people with stakes, Elena," he says looking her over. "What is this, the third time?"

"She wouldn't have to if people would _stop trying to stake me_." Caroline shoots a glare at Damon for his past transgression, and then focuses her attention on Faith.

"I'm sorry, okay?" Faith offers, though she doesn't sound terribly sorry.

Sheriff Forbes pokes her head into the room, taking in the destruction. "Is everyone alright?" she inquires.

"We're fine," Caroline answers. "Did you see Mia in the hall?"

"I'll take care of it; I had the deputies move everyone to the front of the building. A few trusted ones are guarding the back so you can get out."

"Why don't we all go clean up and reconvene at the boarding house in an hour?" Elijah suggests.

"We'll see you there," Elena nods. Damon offers Elena a hand and she hops off the desk. Her head hurts from Caroline's blood and her vision is sharper than usual, a side effect she is more than used to.

"Let me carry you," Damon suggests.

"I can walk," Elena insists. "Take Bonnie."

"I've got her," Caroline explains, lifting Bonnie into her arms easily.

"Do you mind if I come with you guys?" Willow asks. "I think I should be there when she wakes up."

"Of course," Elena replies.

Willow joins them as they make their way out the back of the school to Elena's SUV, while Faith and Elijah head out separately.

"Do you remember when I said, 'I don't want to go to the dance; something horrible is going to happen'?" Elena reminds them as they make their way to her car.

"Yeah, you told us so," Caroline huffs. "Say what you will, my decorations were flawless."

* * *

Back at the boarding house, Elena draws herself a bath and sheds her bloodstained garment. She slides all the way under the water, enjoying the sensation of her hair floating around her head. She blows some bubbles, just for her own amusement, and surfaces to find Damon kneeling above her.

"How are you feeling?" he asks, leaning over to kiss her forehead.

"Better." She cups a bubble and blows it at him. "Want to join me?"

"Do I ever," he says huskily. He pulls off his clothes and Elena moves forward so he can slip into the tub behind her.

"I guess we're free now," she murmurs, relaxing against him sleepily.

Damon plants a feather-light kiss on her shoulder. "Good, I wanted my Camaro back," he jokes. "We've still got Klaus to deal with, though," he adds more seriously. "But Katherine came through; that was a first."

"I told you so," Elena teases as she sticks her tongue out at him playfully.

"Yes, you did," he says softly, examining her shoulder critically. "Did you get all the glass out?"

"Yeah, I didn't get hit too badly. Caroline pulled most of it out; the rest healed on its own." Elena leans back, resting her head on his shoulder as she looks up at him. "Do you think we can trust them, Damon?"

He pauses, surprised at her question. "Isn't it a little late for this question, Elena?"

"Yes, probably; I wonder, though."

Damon runs a hand down her arm and idly interlaces their fingers. "I think we should be careful," he breathes against her neck. "It's a terrible idea for vampires to get into bed with Slayers, but it's pretty much our only way of getting Stefan and Jeremy back. And Elijah...he's gone back on his promises before, but he feels guilty about that. Play up the Bambi eyes, would you?"

"What, these?" She looks up at him coyly, batting her eyelashes playfully. "I think you might have better luck in the eye department. Teach me how you do it?"

"What, this?" He lowers his eyelashes and gives her a half grin that makes her shiver. "This can't be taught." He lowers his head to plant a kiss on her shoulder.

They're interrupted by a banging on the bedroom door, "Stop being gross!" Caroline shouts, "Elijah's here."

Damon pouts as Elena pulls away and climbs out of the tub.

Elena wraps herself in a towel and leans over the tub. "Later," she whispers against his lips.

She throws on her most comfortable pyjama pants and sweatshirt, and secures her hair on top of her head.

"It's after midnight, I refuse to put on real clothes," she explains to Damon, who dons his typical jeans and dark shirt.

He slips an arm around her waist as they walk down the stairs. "Legally, this is still your house, Elena. You can wear whatever the hell you want." He gives her a wink. "Or nothing at all if you like." Elena rolls her eyes and bumps her hip against his.

In the living room, they find Caroline at the drink cart, immaculate in jeans and sweater. Elijah sits primly on the sofa, a cup of tea in his hand.

"Really, Elena?" Caroline comments, her eyes flicking over her attire.

"It's late, I got staked, I'm tired." Elena retorts, pouring herself a drink and plopping down on the couch with her feet curled under her. Caroline perches herself on the arm of the chair next to her.

"Wow, nice digs!" Faith exclaims, strolling in through the front door without bothering to knock.

"Drink?" Damon offers, holding out the drink he was pouring.

"I like you," she smirks with her full lips, looking him up and down appreciatively as she takes the drink from him. She drapes herself across one of the armchairs.

"Is Bonnie alright?" Elena asks Willow as she slips into the room dressed in some clothes borrowed from Caroline. They are far too big for her.

Damon holds out a tumbler for her and Willow takes it with a nod of thanks. "She's resting now; what she did tonight took a lot out of her. She told me about the magic that professor had her messing with... It's some bad mojo, but I've been through something like it myself. I can help her. It's just a matter of learning to reconnect with energy, refocus it."

Elena gives her a faint smile. "I'm glad."

Damon seats himself next to Elena, gently pulling her feet into his lap.

"So..." Elena starts, looking to Willow. "Katherine and I were hoping that you might be able to unlink Klaus from the rest of the vampires so we could...stop him."

"Basically, we'd like to kill _his_ brother without taking out _mine_ in the process," Damon summarizes curtly. Elena whacks him lightly in the stomach. _Play nice_, she mouths.

"Or me!" Caroline adds.

Elijah nods, knowingly. "I don't want to kill Niklaus but I admit that may be the only option. My brother has... I was willing to humour his transgressions in the past because I made the assumption—correctly I might add—that Elena would wind up dead or a vampire sooner rather than later, thus resolving the problem. When I heard she had become a vampire, I thought we had seen the end of the hybrids. I never dreamed that the cure could possibly exist, much less that he could ever find it. But now...he has to be stopped; we can't allow him to sire himself an army of such dangerous creatures."

"I've been doing some research on unlinking magic like that," Willow explains, "But something that old...it's a tricky spell. Bonnie offered up her collection of Grimoires; I'm going to go through those tomorrow."

"I talked to Buffy earlier," Faith contributes. "She's sort of like our lead Slayer," she explains for Elena, Caroline, and Damon's benefit. "She and Spike have been doing some recon, but they haven't found much." She nods to Elena. "The un-sired hybrids you warned made it to Angel. They're all accounted for except one; Angel's got them in safe houses somewhere."

"Tyler's dead," Elena explains, swallowing her grief. "But I'm glad the rest are safe."

"Buffy and I are willing to try for a magic solution," Faith continues. "But if we can't, we're going after this with a good old fashioned stake."

"You know the only thing that will kill him is a stake of White Oak, Faith," Elijah adds. "The location of which, I believe Damon is privy to?"

Caroline and Elena look to Damon who shakes his head. "After Elena tried to go all pseudo-Slayer on Rebekah, I left it to Stefan to hide," he explains. "I have no idea where he put it, but I told him not to keep it in the house with all of Elena's newbie vampire rage."

"So you're telling me that the only person who knows the location of this stake is currently in the hands of the enemy?" Faith says dubiously.

"That is exactly what I'm telling you," Damon replies evenly.

Faith leans forward on her elbows, challenging him. "Why should I believe you?"

Damon meets her eyes, not backing down. "Because you have to," he says curtly.

Elena elbows him in the ribs. "Are you not planning in un-daggering Rebekah?" she asks Elijah, trying to change the subject.

"Not at the moment," he answers, "Unless we have to, of course. I hate to leave her there, but—as you know—my siblings have a tendency towards the unpredictable. It would be best to wait until we have dealt with Niklaus."

"Giles thinks we should head back to Europe soon," Faith adds. "It's safer for you on the Slayer compound and we have more resources to work with."

"Where in Europe?" Damon asks.

"Scotland," Willow replies with a small smile. It drops momentarily. "But...it's going to be a few days before I'd feel comfortable putting Bonnie on a plane. Her magic is too unpredictable right now."

"I don't want to leave Matt here unprotected," Elena insists. "What if Klaus comes back?"

"If Klaus is in the Urals, it will be some time before he's able to attempt to check in with Kol again," Elijah answers. "I imagine we have at least a week, perhaps two, before he realizes what happened. When he does...I don't imagine he'll come back here himself. He'll want to come after me and find Elena. If we aren't here..."

"He won't have any reason to come?"

"I don't believe so, no. But if it makes you feel better, I do have allies. I could call in a few friends to watch over things in our absence." Elena eyes Elijah dubiously. "I assure you, Elena," he begins, "They will be on their best behaviour. No one will even know they are here." Elena wants to trust him, but she hates the idea of leaving her town in the hands of strangers.

"I could stay here," Caroline suggests. "I don't like the idea of leaving my Mom and Matt here without protection."

"You need to stay with us," Damon urges. Elena glances at him, surprised. "Klaus has a thing for you; if he knows you're here, he'll come to Mystic Falls for sure. I made that mistake when we went after the cure. Plus, believe it or not Blondie, you're somewhat useful."

Caroline stares at him, open mouthed, "Was that a compliment from Damon Salvatore?"

"Don't get used to it, Barbie."

"It should hopefully be only a few days to get Bonnie's magic under control," Willow interjects their banter. "While I'm helping her with that, maybe the rest of you could put some precautions in place to keep the town protected?"

"We need vervain," Damon suggests. "The whole supply got blown up with the Council and no one has procured any sense."

"I can help with that," Elijah offers. "Perhaps we should all retire and reconvene in the morning?"

Elena nods eagerly, feeling herself already nodding off as everyone says their goodbyes.

* * *

Elena rolls over in the middle of the night, surprised to find the other side of the bed empty. She throws on Damon's robe and creeps silently down the stairs, finding Damon in the library, staring out the window, drink in hand. Elena walks quietly up behind him and wraps her arms around him.

"Come to bed," she murmurs against his shoulder.

"I'm not tired," he tells her.

She lets go of him and grasps his arm, forcing him to turn and face her. His eyes are hooded, dark even, but he isn't drunk. "What is it Damon?"

His eyes flick from the window, back to her, "We can't let them have that stake, Elena."

"Do you know where it is?" she asks warily.

Damon shakes his head. "I wasn't lying. I don't know for sure where it is, but I know Stefan. So…"

Elena nods. If anyone could guess where he put it, it would be Damon. "I'm going to start going through the Grimoires with Caroline and Willow tomorrow; maybe we'll find something."

"Something that Bonnie didn't already? I wouldn't put too much stock in that, Elena."

"Willow says they have a huge library in Scotland," Elena offers, wrapping both arms around his waist. "We'll find something. I won't let Stefan and Caroline die, Damon. If they want to take them down, they'll have to take us down with them."

He gives her a crooked smile. "Will they, oh warrior princess?"

"I will always come between my friends and the people who want to kill them, you know that. And I tonight I proved it to Faith, too."

He pulls her closer to him. "I couldn't protect you tonight."

"Well, that's just not true." She slides her hands into his back pockets, looking up at him. "I heard you punched one of Liz's deputies."

"You know what I mean, Elena. I just... this is my life. I finally get the girl only to lose the ability to protect her."

"I don't need you to protect me, Damon. I just want you to be here; that's all." She takes both of his hands, interlacing their fingers. "Just be here."

**A/N: Thank you all so much for reading and for the many reviews/follows/favorites etc. We're on the home stretch here and I'm very excited to start writing the sequel. Special thank you to my awesome beta Two-Ways-Down-None-To-Go formerly known as Skye Velomatic. **


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

"No, you have to twist your arm more," Faith insists as she readjusts Elena's stance. They stand in the middle of the living room training, the furniture pushed against the walls to allow more room. "Now try." Elena aims a punch and watches it connect with Faith's abdomen. Faith flinches for a second but recovers quickly. "Nice one," Faith grins.

Damon leans over top of the couch, dressed to go running with Matt. "You're still favouring your left, though," he reminds Elena. "You always do that."

"You wanna give it go?" Faith asks him jocularly but with a serious look in her eyes. Damon's eyes flash with a challenge Elena knows he can't take on.

"I'm always ready to take on a Slayer," he says with his usual teasing arrogance.

"For the love of God, take it outside!" Bonnie pleads, her eyes snapping open. She sits cross-legged on the floor in the dining room concentrating on a task of Willow's.

"It's cold out," Damon protests.

"So what? You're a—" Bonnie catches herself at the last second and bites her lip awkwardly.

"Please take it somewhere else," Willow urges, trying to ease the tension.

Faith rolls her eyes and strolls through the door to the patio. "Are you guys coming?" she calls over her shoulder. Damon ushers Elena forward, out into the cold.

Elena leans against the side of the house, watching as Faith motions and Damon comes to stand across from her. Faith pounces, but Damon manages to duck away from her. He tries to go for her jugular but, seconds later, she knocks him clean off his feet with a high kick. He lands on the ground with her foot to his throat.

"If you were still a vampire that would've worked," she tells him, removing her foot and holding out a hand to help him up. "But you can't rely on that kind of speed anymore."

Damon takes her hand, nodding intently. "Wanna try again?" he asks, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Sure. Try and rely on strength this time okay? Not speed." Damon nods and they begin again.

Elena moves further down the patio where she hopes her cringing won't be a distraction. Faith is at least decent enough not to hurt him, but Damon just can't keep up the way she remembers that he used to. It's as if he remembers how to move, but he keeps forcing his body to do things it can't anymore. Faith is surprisingly patient with him though and Damon is shockingly receptive. Every few minutes she stops him, explains a few things and they go again.

"Hey," Matt sidles up to her. He's been spending a lot of time at the boarding house since Kol left, mostly working out with Damon; it surprises her to see them spending time together, but she's glad that they're getting along.

Elena looks at him out of the corner of her eye with a smile, quickly returning her gaze back to the sparring match before her. "Hey Matt," she breathes. "I'm assuming you're here for Damon?"

"Yeah," Matt answers as he glances over to where Damon is sparring with Faith. "I guess he's busy, though."

"You can wait with me. I doubt they'll be very long." She winces as Faith lands what looks like a particularly nasty kick. Damon gets up right away and launches himself back at her again. "Or I can just go with you instead." She glances down at the sweats and t-shirt she was wearing for her own training. "Just let me change my shoes."

The two of them head into the house where Bonnie and Willow are still working quietly. Elena digs her running shoes out of the hall closet and motions for Matt to follow her out the front door while she puts them on.

"Sorry, I think Bonnie's trying to concentrate," she explains, seating herself on the porch to put her shoes on.

Matt nods absently. "So you and Damon have been training with Faith, huh?"

"I have," Elena corrects as she leans to stretch her legs. "Damon just started today. She's really good. I'm glad you and Damon have been working out together, though, or whatever it is you're doing; it's good for him to have something to focus on."

Matt shrugs. "He seems...mellower. Either that, or it's just the fact that if he wanted to snap my neck these days, I think I'd actually stand a chance."

"Do you think he's doing okay?" she asks softly, standing and grabbing Matt's shoulder for balance as she stretches her quads. "Has he said anything to you?"

"It's not like we sit around in our pyjamas drinking hot chocolate and talking about our feelings, Elena."

Elena switches legs. "I know, I just...wondered." She finishes her stretch and rolls her shoulders a few times for good measure as the two of them head down the driveway.

Matt gives her a furtive side look as they reach the mailbox at the end of the driveway. "Do you want my honest opinion, Elena?"

"Of course."

Matt halts, looking grimly towards the house and then back at her. "I think if he didn't love you so much, he would have gotten down his knees and begged Caroline to turn him back days ago." Elena simply stares at her friend, processing the information she thinks she knew all along. "But he's trying, Elena," Matt continues, "Anyone can see that. Maybe he'll adjust."

_Or maybe he won't._ Elena thinks back to Katherine's words.

_Can you live with yourself when it makes him miserable?_

Matt looks away for a moment, "I'm sorry, Elena. I didn't mean to upset you..."

She waves him off. "No. Thank you, Matt. Thank you for...well, you always tell me the truth. Even when I don't want to hear it." She touches his shoulder lightly. "You're such a good friend to me; I don't deserve it."

"You _died_ for me, Elena. The very least I can do is be honest with you." He jerks his head towards the road. "Race you to the mill and back?"

Elena grins. They used to race everywhere when they were little: to the mailbox, the end of the street, the kitchen table; it didn't matter as long as they were running. She jumps into a starting stance, "One, two—"

Matt takes off running before she can finish. "Cheater!" she yells after him, running to catch up.

Matt slows down at the top of the hill before they reach the mill. "You're slacking, Elena." he calls to her jokingly.

"You suck!" she yells back breathlessly. "And you cheated!"

When she finally reaches the top of the hill, Elena collapses onto the grass gasping. "I am so out of shape."

"Oh c'mon." Matt collapses next to her. "You didn't do _that_ badly. And yeah...I cheated a little."

Elena slugs him on the arm and lays back, looking at the sky. "This is nice," she says after a moment. "I've missed this."

"Elena, there's something I want to tell you." Elena flinches, causing him to chuckle. "For once it's nothing bad. Relax. I was just talking to Willow yesterday and...well, she knows this vampire in LA."

Elena rolls over to face him, "You mean Angel?"

Matt nods. "Yeah him. Anyways, we were talking about it, and I think that's where I'm going to go after you guys leave."

"You're going to leave Mystic Falls and become Angel's new sidekick?" she asks with raised eyebrows.

"I don't know about the sidekick thing, but...it's time for me to leave, Elena," he confesses. "And, with you guys heading back to Europe and stuff, I just thought...maybe I could do some good somewhere else. I'm so tired of this town, and with the high school condemned, there's not any point in sticking around for graduation so..."

Elena absently picks a piece of grass. "I met him actually, when I was in LA with Katherine."

"Yeah?"

"He's...well, I think you'd like him. I know he could use the company. I'm going to miss you, though."

"It's not _that_ far. And I'll come back and visit as soon as you get Jeremy back, okay?"

"Promise?"

Matt grins and holds out his hand. "I'll do you one better," he tells her. "Pinky swear?"

Elena laughs and hooks their pinkies together. "Deal."

* * *

Elena leans back against the pillows, chewing absently on the end of her pen as she tries to find the right words. The bedside lamp gives a soft glow to the creamy pages of the journal spread open in front of her. Even though her thoughts vary from muddled to downright fearful, it feels good to at least put them back on paper again. Her feelings are easier to work through when they're all laid out in front of her.

"Hey, there you are," Damon pokes his head into what has become their bedroom. She feels like she _should_ move back into her own house now that Kol is no longer forcing her to stay here, but every time she thinks of it, she sees Jeremy's bedroom door like a big gaping black hole and she can't bring herself to do it. So she stays.

It's not conventional, but then nothing in her life is anymore and Damon certainly isn't complaining.

She places the ribbon in her journal and sets it aside. "Hey. How did the meeting with Liz go?"

Damon shrugs. "It was fine. I'll be a properly documented human in no time." He tries to be flippant, but Elena can sense the bitterness in his words. He flops down on the bed next to her.

"I got you something today," she remembers. She slips out of the bed and pulls a small box out of her purse. "It took forever to figure out where Jeremy put it, but..." She comes around the bed to stand in front of him. "I think you should have it. It was Alaric's after all." She opens the box, revealing one of the Gilbert rings.

Damon regards the box with trepidation. "I'm already homicidal enough, should we really throw psychotic into the mix?"

"You have to die a whole bunch of times for that to happen, Damon," she states with a stern look. "And if you think I'm going to let you die multiple times than maybe you're already psychotic."

"Well no one ever said I was stable," he mumbles taking the box from her hands. "I'll make you a deal. I'll wear this, but only until we've dealt with Klaus. Then it goes back in the box."

Elena nods. "I can live with that."

She plucks the ring from the box and slides it onto his left hand. "You're starting to collect an awful lot of bling," Elena comments, regarding the daylight ring still on his right hand.

Damon flexes his fingers. "Just call me Liberace."

He sets the box down on the nightstand and takes her hands, tugging her down onto the bed with him. "Since we're exchanging family heirlooms, I have something I wanted to give you too."

Damon reaches over her into his nightstand drawer and holds out a rectangular blue velvet box for her to take.

Elena raises her eyebrows curiously. "What is it?"

"Open it."

Elena takes the box from his hands and cracks it open, revealing a silver bracelet. She pulls it out, dangling the delicate chain between her fingers. "It's lovely," she smiles. "Thank you." She turns it over to clasp it and the light catches on an engraving. "Damon, I think the jeweller got my initials mixed up." She turns the bracelet over so he can see the letters engraved on the flip side: _GEC_ in flowing script. "It should be _ECG_." 

Damon runs a finger over the initials absently. "Actually, Elena, they didn't. Those were already there; they're my mother's initials."

She holds it out to him, "This was your mother's bracelet?"

"Yes."

"Damon...I—"

He clasps his hand over hers, forcing her to close the fist holding the bracelet. "I want you to have it. I almost gave it to you for your birthday actually, but..."

She swallows. "You didn't."

"It didn't feel right then. It didn't feel right when we found out about all the weird witchy juju in that necklace either, but I was going to give it to you anyways because I didn't want you to be without vervain." He fingers one of the links on the chain. "This bracelet would have been too small for you as it was, so I had a few links added with vervain infused in them. But before it came back from the jewellers, you became a vampire and obviously you didn't need it anymore, so I left it there. I was walking past there this morning and...it feels right, now."

Elena looks at the bracelet in her hands and then back up at him, her eyes welling with tears. "I'm so sorry."

Damon frowns in confusion. "What?"

"You did all these wonderful things for me and I left you to die alone in a storage facility and then I choose Stefan," she chokes. "And when now there's all of this... you should hate me. Why don't you hate me?"

"Elena..." He looks away for a moment, gathering his thoughts. "I'm not going to lie to you," he finally confesses. "What you did...in October, it sucked. It really, really, fuckingsucked. But—" He grabs her hand, stopping her from pulling away from him. "If you tallied up all the things we've both done to hurt each other on a scoreboard and tried to balance them out, I don't exactly come away as the good guy in all this."

"But—" He puts a finger over her lips.

"I don't love this, Elena. Not by a long shot." He strokes her cheek with his thumb, fixing her with the full intensity of his gaze. "But I love you," he breathes, almost with reverence, as if he's afraid to cheapen it with over use.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry," she sobs into his shoulder. "I did this to you."

"This isn't your fault," he gently wipes one of her tears away. "Don't cry, _cara_."

"What was that you called me?" she asks, sniffing slightly.

He pulls back, looking slightly embarrassed. "From your middle name, Carina? When you thought the jeweller had mixed up your initials it came to mind. It's Italian for 'dear.' I'm sorry, it just slipped out... there's been a lot of Italian in my head lately."

"It's okay. I like it. You know—" Elena glances down at the bracelet. "I don't even know what your mother's name was."

He takes the bracelet and fastens it around her wrist for her. "It was Grace. Grace Eleri Colwyn. She had this before she was married."

"That's an unusual name."

Damon leans back against the pillows, allowing Elena to settle against him. "Her family came from Wales at some point, I think."

"Why don't you ever talk about her?" she murmurs, toying with the buttons on his shirt, "Stefan never did either."

"Stefan was only four when she died; he doesn't remember her. And I just...don't like to."

"Oh."

"It's not like she was a bad mother or anything. It's just...not something we talk about." He pauses for a moment, thinking. "Most women, they weren't very well educated back then. But Mother loved books," he finally offers. "That's how I got my name actually, from one of her favourite plays, _Damon and Pythias_."

"I don't know it."

"You wouldn't; it's not very well known. Her copy is downstairs somewhere, though if you want to find it."

"Tell me instead?"

"Basically, it's a Greek myth," he explains. "The story goes that Damon and Pythias were best friends, but Pythias pissed off King Dionysus and was sentenced to death. Pythias wanted to go home and get his shit together before his execution, but the King was afraid he would run off. So Damon offered to take his place while Pythias settled his affairs. Dionysus allowed it, under the condition that Damon would be killed if he didn't return. He was about to kill him when Pythias returned just in time to save his friend and Dionysus was so impressed with their loyalty to each other he let him them both go."

Elena looks up at him, smiling. "Do you think Klaus knows that story? I think he could benefit a lot from it."

"Oh I'm sure he knows it," Damon replies. "But somehow I doubt that anything involving him would be to our benefit."

"Bastard," Elena quips.

* * *

"Mind if I run to the drug store and meet you back here?" Bonnie suggests the following morning, nodding her head to the drug store just up the road from where the girls are strolling. "I want to grab some aspirin."

"Sure," Elena nods. "I just wanted to grab some cereal real quick. Meet you here in five."

She ducks inside, heading straight for the cereal aisle. She's not crazy about the stuff herself, but—for some reason—Damon's newfound human tastes require Lucky Charms by the boxful and Caroline never managed to curb her love of Fruit Loops. She reaches up to grab a box when she catches movement out of the corner of her eye.

Klaus leans casually on the shelf to her left. Elena nearly drops the box. She closes her eyes for a second, hoping she's imagining things. Opening them slowly, she turns them back to where she spotted him; he remains there, an insolent grin plastered across his face.

"Tell me, Elena," he says, pushing himself off the shelf. A few boxes of Cornflakes tumble off, surpassing his notice. "Why is my doppelganger wandering around Mystic Falls all by her lonesome? Why anything could happen."

"What-what are you doing here?" Elena stammers, trying to stall.

"Well you see, Elena, delegation is the key to success. I sired my hybrids, gave them my orders, and left them to Stefan. It's nothing he can't handle. He's quite a capable lad when he puts his mind to it. But then I'm sure _you_ know that."

"But why are you _here_?" Elena protests, her eyes flashing quickly towards the door.

Klaus takes a step closer. "Why, to check on you, of course. I was quite concerned when I couldn't reach my dear brother. Tell me Elena, where is he? I left him explicit instructions not to let you wander about by yourself and, here the first thing I see when I arrive in town is you strolling around with your little witch like you don't have a care in the world."

Elena swallows, thinking rapidly. This is good news, he doesn't know yet about Elijah. If she can stall him long enough to get Elijah here, they might possibly be able to make it out of town unscratched.

"He's...he's at the movie theatre with Damon," Elena blurts the first place away from the boarding house that comes to mind. Klaus arches an eyebrow, causing her to wince inwardly. He surely knows she's lying.

"Now why would Kol suddenly develop an interest in taking _your_ boyfriend to a movie? Either there's a lot I don't know about my own brother," he takes a step closer. "Or you're _lying_ to me." Klaus brings his arms up on either side of her so she is pinned against the shelf. "You know what happens when you lie to me, Elena. Now tell me the truth." He hits the shelf roughly for effect, sending several boxes of Fruit Loops flying through the air.

"I'm waiting." Klaus leans closer to her. "Every time I have to resort to compelling you, Elena, is another person who makes your brother into a meal. Oh yes, he's still alive. I've found him _quite_ useful." His pupils dilate and Elena trembles, preparing herself for the show of her life. He can't know she's wearing vervain. "Tell me where Kol is," Klaus demands. Elena's eyes settle on something just beyond his shoulder, one of the flashing signs encouraging people to buy lottery tickets. _Parking Lot_. It suddenly flashes. Elena gulps.

"He's in the parking lot," Elena replies, more evenly this time. "Stefan's Porsche is acting up."

Klaus pulls away, then pushes the shelf behind her. She screams as it tumbles over onto the next aisle. It hits the one on the other side and sends them falling like dominoes, sprinkling shattered glass and bits of food in its wake.

"Excellent," Klaus replies coolly. "Let's go then. I have a bone to pick with my brother. Perhaps I'll break a few of them. After you," he ushers her forward, gentlemen like. Elena looks around the store at the people staring at them in utter disbelief. She picks her way through the debris to the door.

Klaus takes her arm, yanking her across the street and through the square. As soon as they turn the corner into the parking lot Klaus's eyes whip back and forth. It takes him all of two seconds to realize Kol is not there.

He opens his mouth, but a series of explosions rip through the air and he releases his grip on Elena's arm. In the confusion, an un-known force yanks her away from Klaus, and tackles her to the ground behind a nearby car. Elena glances sideways; next to her Matt crawls to his feet.

"Run," he mouths.

Elena glances under the car. Klaus is getting up off the ground, his face partially burnt from a vervain grenade. He takes a step towards the car and Elena blanches.

Matt pulls another vervain grenade out of his pocket and launches it over the car. "Elena. Get out of here," he orders through gritted teeth.

There's a squeal of brakes behind her and Bonnie spills out of Damon's Camaro. She grabs Elena's arm and shoves her into the car with an astonishing amount of force, slamming the door behind her. Elena recovers her breath as the car peals away at triple the speed limit with Damon at the wheel.

"What. The. Hell?" Elena spits. "We have to go back!"

"Yeah, that's not happening," Damon replies.

Elena scrambles to see out the back window. "How the hell could you involve Matt in this?" she cries with rage.

"No one _wanted_ to involve Matt," Damon protests. "But he was nearby with load of vervain grenades in his car and we had to get you out of here before Klaus caught on."

Elena throws him a glare that could liquidate kidneys.

Damon sighs in frustration and holds up his left hand, flexing his fingers a few times to show the Gilbert ring is gone. "They're going to be _fine_. Elijah and Willow were right behind me. Bonnie can take care of Matt. Alright?"

Elena crosses her arms. "You gave him the ring?"

"If anyone should have that thing it's Donovan. That kid is like a supernatural danger magnet." He glances at her. "Does it bother you that I gave it to him?"

Elena shakes her head, settling back into her seat. "No, I'm glad you did. I just..." She trails off, staring out the window worried and angry. She's relieved Matt has the ring, but that doesn't guarantee his safety or anyone else's.

Damon's phone rings, breaking the silence. "Please tell me you have good news," he answers. Elena can detect the shrill sound of Caroline's voice, but she can't hear make out exactly what she's saying. Damon nods a few times "Okay. Meet you there."

He flicks on his turn signal and pulls the car onto a side road.

"What's going on?"

"We're picking up Caroline in Buckingham and then we're meeting Faith at an airstrip outside of Charlottesville."

"What about Bonnie and Matt? And Willow and Elijah?"

"Faith is going to meet us at the airport. The rest of them are hopefully going to play 'Distract the Single-Minded Hybrid' long enough to get you the hell out of here."

Elena absently bites one of her fingernails, a newer stress habit for her that she picked up just last summer while Stefan was away on his Ripper-cation. Damon takes her hand, pulling it away from her mouth.

"I know this sucks for you, but we _can't_ go back and you know that. You know that Klaus won't be reasoned with; even _if_ we handed you over, he'd still kill us all." She can't see his eyes behind his sunglasses, but she knows he is looking at her intently. "I'm never going to apologise for trying to keep you safe, Elena."

Elena doesn't say anything because she knows this to be true. And it kills her because she shouldn't be alive. All of her friends are in danger. Hell, the world is in danger because of her existence. She likes being alive, being a human again, but her life can't possibly be worth _this _much. It isn't fair.

Damon squeezes her hand gently. "Hey, look at me. They're going to be _fine_."

She turns to him with haunted eyes. "You don't know that."

She turns her attention back to the window until Damon brings the car to a halt in front of a Blockbuster in Buckingham. Caroline appears on the driver's side seconds after Damon parks.

"Yes?" he asks, raising his sunglasses.

"I'm driving," Caroline insists.

Damon chortles, "No you're not."

"I have quicker reflexes!" she protests, stamping her foot.

Damon shakes his head. "Get in back, Barbie. Reflexes or not, I've owned this car longer than you've been alive. I know what I'm doing with it."

Caroline huffs, but crawls over Elena to seat herself in the back.

"Music anyone?" Damon asks flippantly. Both girls scowl at him. "Wow. Feeling the love today." He turns the car onto the highway with The Clash blaring. Caroline turns around in her seat, keeping an eagle eye on all the cars behind them.

"Damon, drive faster!" she urges frantically. "We're being followed."

"Is it Klaus?" he questions as he presses his foot down harder against the pedal.

Caroline shakes her head, though he doesn't see. "Nope, I'm pretty sure it's just vampire minions."

"Are you positive?" He jerks the car into the next lane, cutting off a Mercedes behind them.

Caroline watches the line of cars behind them for a moment, trying to look into the tinted windows of the car following them. "When was the last time you saw a hippie, a biker chick and a guy who looks like he stole his clothes from Kevin Federline in a Prius together?"

Damon curses under his breath and stomps harder on the gas while weaving in and out of traffic as fast as the Camaro can manage.

"Are they hybrids or just plain vampires?" he asks through gritted teeth.

"How could I possibly know?" Caroline exclaims shrilly. "It's not like they're driving around all yellow eyed and furry."

Damon brakes suddenly before stomping on the gas pedal and whipping around a semi-truck in the process. "How are we doing?"

"They're keeping up," Caroline replies anxiously.

Damon glances into the rear-view mirror, thinking quickly. "Caroline, how quick do you think you could compel someone to give you their car?"

"Um...if you give me a shirt with enough cleavage, I won't even have to compel them."

"Great." He wrenches the car over, cutting off three lanes of traffic and pulls the car onto the next exit, careening down it at top speed. Upon entering the town, he runs straight through several red lights and makes a few random turns, finally screeching the car to a stop in a Wal-Mart parking lot. "We don't have much time," he reminds as he turns around to face the blonde vampire. "Compel someone. _Now_."

Caroline nods and climbs out of the car at warp speed, disappearing in the cavalcade of cars. Damon eases his tired car towards the back of the lot, hiding it behind a large RV.

Seconds later, Caroline pulls up in a black SUV with dark windows. She pushes open the passenger door with panicked eyes. "Get in!" she shouts. Elena dives in the front and Damon slides into the backseat.

"Where am I going?" Caroline asks, panicked, as they shoot out of the parking lot.

"The airport, Caroline," Damon barks in irritation.

"No. I know _that_." Caroline blows her bangs out of her face, gripping the wheel tighter. "I just don't know how to get out of town."

"Take a left," Damon orders. Caroline follows the direction, putting them on an unfamiliar side street.

She bites her lip. "Um...Damon, this is not the way we came."

"Try a right?" Elena suggests, thumbing through the glove box for a map. Caroline glances over her shoulder and whips a U-turn at top speed, sending them back flying the other direction onto another unfamiliar street.

"Ugh, does this thing have GPS?" she complains, her eyes scanning the roads for a hint as to where to go.

"Just keep driving," Damon demands through gritted teeth, glancing behind them from where he sits in the back seat. "Drive through someone's yard if you have to. Just get us back to the highway!"

Caroline makes a few more turns, screaming at Damon the entire time, and they finally find themselves back near the highway.

"Ease up," Damon warns, leaning forward. "We don't want to draw their attention again." Caroline glances into the rear-view mirror.

"Yeah... I think they already spotted us," Elena remarks, spotting the Prius a few cars behind them in her side mirror. Caroline jerks the wheel—slamming Elena and Damon into the doors—and hits the gas, sending them flying through a red light and onto the highway once more. A siren sounds as a police car starts following them.

"Shit!" Caroline curses.

"Just pull over and compel them," Elena suggests. Caroline glances into her side mirror.

"Yeah, if I do that, the vampires be right on us." She keeps her foot on the gas. "We're twenty minutes from the airport. Maybe I can just outrun them?"

"You can try," Damon starts, "But they'll probably call it in. You are _so_ not ready for full on chase like that." His mouth twists as if he's remembering something that amuses him. Caroline glowers back at him in her rear-view mirror but then her eyes widen.

"I have an idea," she gasps. "Both of you, the second I pull over, get out of the car and get into the cop car as fast as you possibly can."

Without warning, Caroline lurches the car onto the side of the road and the cop behind them follows suit, skidding to a stop. "Hurry!" she yells. Damon and Elena jump out of the car before it comes to a complete stop, running for the police car behind them. The cop gets out slowly, his hand on his gun, but finds Caroline in front of him before he can draw it.

"You're going to let us borrow your car," Caroline compels quickly. Behind them, the car full of vampires slowly comes to a stop.

A tall vampire with dreadlocks comes straight for Elena, but her training with Faith pays off. She feints to the right and manages to land a kick to his groin before he can grab her. He drops to the ground and Elena yanks on the door to the cop car, but it refuses to give. She's about to go around the driver's side when something grabs at her ankle, yanking her to the ground with a loud smack. She kicks whatever holds her off and rolls away, slightly dazed. She reaches for the door again, but Caroline appears in front of her and rips the passenger door right off its hinges.

"You drive!" Caroline yells as Elena scrambles into the car, she around turns just in time to Caroline raise the door and bring the jagged edge down on the vampire in front of her. "Get ready to drive, I've got Damon!" Caroline exclaims, Elena turns the ignition on and seconds later, Caroline hurtles into the passenger's seat, dragging Damon with her.

"_Go!_"

Elena stomps on the gas, sending the car hurling back onto the highway while Caroline holds onto Damon, who hangs halfway out of the car. Caroline brings an arm back and punches out the metal grille separating the back seat. Letting go of Damon and works herself into the back.

Damon sits back comfortably in the passenger's seat and stretches out his legs. Inspecting the console, he flips a switch and the siren begins to pierce. "I gotta hand it to you, Blondie," he begins with a gleeful smirk, "That was not a bad plan."

* * *

Faith greets them at the airstrip with a quirked eyebrow. "I take it you ran into trouble?"

"You have no idea," Caroline exhales.

Faith nods her head to the plane. "C'mon. Elijah called in his pilot; we're all set to go."

"What about the others?" Elena looks back towards the road, worried.

"They'll be alright," Faith assures her. "They know what they have to do, Elena. We need to get you out of here. _Now_."

Damon puts a hand on the small of her back, urging her forward and onto the plane.

* * *

They arrive in Scotland in the middle of the night. Elena wraps her arms around herself against the chill as Faith urges them off of the plane and into a sleek black town car waiting for them on the tarmac.

"We've got a bit of a drive," she informs them. "We're outside of Inverness right now."

The car pulls away, leaving behind the twinkling lights of Inverness and turning into the winding blackness beyond. Elena dozes in and out on Damon's shoulder listening to the gentle timbre of his voice as he and Faith discuss the merits of various brands of crossbows and why Prague is a terrible place for an ambush. Across from her, Caroline thumbs through a fashion magazine, making an occasional noise in the back of her throat when she sees something particularly heinous.

When the car finally slows, gliding through a security checkpoint, Caroline's face blanches, "Um, can I get an invitation?" She manages to gasp.

Faith's eyes grow wide, "Come in!" She says loudly, watching as Caroline begins to relax. "Sorry, I completely forgot about that."

"It's okay," Caroline nods, recovering her breath.

The car slides into well-lit driveway. It looks almost like a prison with high chain link fences, cameras and large fluorescent lights mounted on the top. The car slides through a checkpoint and the door opens.

"Faith?" someone asks.

Faith leans forward from her spot across from Elena. "Right here, Xander."

A dark haired man pokes his head into the car. One of his eyes is covered with a patch, but he has a warm smile, "Everyone accounted for?" He asks briskly.

Faith nods. "This is Elena, Damon, and Caroline. Everyone, this is Xander Harris."

Xander nods at them, eyeing them carefully. "Willow called," he tells the Slayer curtly. "Big bad wolf got away, but everyone survived. They'll be here tomorrow."

Elena breathes a sigh of relief.

"Excellent," Faith replies. "I'll just get them settled then." She slides herself out of the car and urges them to follow her. "Any word from B?" She asks, stretching her arms up above her head.

"She and Spike are on their way back now," Xander summarizes, "She didn't say much, but given her mood, I'm gonna error on the side of caution and say things went bad-ish."

Faith makes a face in response but doesn't say anything.

Elena glances around her surroundings, which appear to be a compound of some kind. It's a mind boggling combination of buildings, some of which are old—gorgeous even—making the space feel like a good sized college campus. But it's also dotted with newer, more modern buildings that appear purely functional. The whole area is flooded with florescent light and surrounded by a twenty foot high fence.

"It's been awhile since I've been to prison," Damon quips, glancing around.

Faith rolls her eyes, "You have no idea," she mutters. "C'mon, the guest house is this way."

Faith leads them down a winding narrow pathway that curves around some trees, losing sight of the driveway completely. Finally, after a few minutes of walking, she stops in front of an ugly, modern looking two story building. It's boxlike, with more of an air of a storage facility than a guesthouse. Faith pulls out a key from her back pocket and unlocks the imposing metal door. "I'll show you guys around more in the morning, but for now—" She opens the door and flicks on a light, showing a small entryway with a set of stairs. "C'mon on in. There's a kitchen over here, it should be stocked for you," she turns to Caroline. "I hope you're okay with animal blood."

Caroline shrugs, "I don't love it, but I can drink it." Faith nods and gestures to the stairs, "There's two bedrooms are up there. There should be some clothes for you, hopefully Willow and Bonnie can bring you some of your own stuff when they get here tomorrow. Need anything else?"

Elena shakes her head.

"I'll come back for you guys in morning and give you the tour and everything, sound good?" Faith continues.

Damon nods and Faith gives them a small smile before ducking out the door. Elena turns to Caroline as soon as she shuts the door. "I remember how much the animal blood sucks," she tells her quietly. "You can feed on me if you need to. I won't tell."

Damon chortles, "You need all the blood you can keep in your body Elena. At this point it's a wonder you're not clinically anaemic." He looks at Caroline with a slight scowl, "If you absolutely have to...you can feed on me."

Caroline mouth turns up slightly at the corners, "Thank you both. But I'll be fine." She links her arm through Elena's. "C'mon, we should all get some rest. Everyone is okay and I have a feeling things are about to get crazy."

* * *

**A/N: Just a clarification note to readers, in case you weren't already aware, Buffy/Angel verse in this story is canon compliant to the best of my abilities through their respective series finales but I will NOT be following the storyline in the comics. More Buffy to come! Thank you so much for reading/reviewing/following etc. I appreciate it so much and it is always nice to hear from you. Special thank you to my beta Two-Ways-Down-None-To-Go formerly known as Skye Velomatic. **


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

"Just because the school has been temporarily condemned, is no reason we can't graduate, Elena!" Caroline protests, her hands cupping a mug of animal blood. She sits pyjama-clad, curled up on one of the stools in the small-but-open kitchen. The sunlight streaming through the windows behind her illuminates the wayward strands of her blonde hair, giving her an ethereal glow. "It's only April," she insists, "We could get back to Mystic Falls before graduation."

"Caroline…" Elena exhales with an exhausted sigh. "I think it's time we just accept that maybe a GED is better solution." She leans over the counter on her elbows, scrapping up the last of her Cheerios with her spoon. Her eyes fall on the half full coffee pot and she wonders if she should have a second cup; the jet lag of moving from Europe to the States and back again with barely a week in between is wearing on her.

Caroline gives one of her typical it's-the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know- it sighs. "I just wish we could enjoy the normal stuff, you know? Like prom and graduation and everything."

Elena makes a face, beyond over the whole idea of high school. "It's never going to happen, Caroline."

Damon stumbles down the stairs, into the open living room and kitchen, rubbing his eyes blearily. He doesn't say anything, just strolls straight to the coffee pot propped on the side of the counter next to Caroline. Elena resists the urge to run her hands through his adorable bed hair. Instead, she reaches for a mug from the cabinet above her head. She holds it out for him, dangling it by the handle between her fingers. He hooks his finger around it, brushing hers, and holds her gaze for a second.

"Morning Elena," he murmurs drawing her name out sultrily with a hard e.

"You only get one shot at high school and you're missing it," Caroline continues her tirade, interrupting their moment. Damon pulls away and fills his mug with coffee, black. Elena blinks a few times, trying to remember what Caroline was talking about.

"Sure," she replies vaguely as she busies herself with pulling the milk out of the fridge. Damon gives her a knowing smirk over the rim of his coffee cup and Elena bumps her hip affectionately against his in response. Elbowing the box of Cheerios on the counter towards him, she gives him a small smile, urging him to eat. He replies with his own exasperated look, but sets down his coffee cup and fills his bowl with cereal and milk.

"Faith is going to be here soon to show us around," Elena remarks, glancing at the clock. Damon gives her a nod from where he seats himself at the table between the kitchen and living room.

Caroline glances at the clock hanging above the stove in surprise. "Ugh, I should go get dressed." She looks down at her empty mug and holds it out to Elena. "Could you pour me some more pig's blood before I go, please?"

Damon snorts into his cereal. "Boy, do I _not_ envy you," he mutters.

Elena takes the mug, shaking her head. "Ignore him; turns out he's not a morning person."

"Oh, I always do," Caroline replies brightly, shooting him a scornful look.

Damon glares back at her. "Right back at you, Yappy."

Caroline frowns disapprovingly as she notices Damon wearing the same grey long sleeved shirt he wore when they arrived. "Didn't you wear that yesterday?" she accuses in roughly the same disgusted tone she would have used if she'd caught him snacking on one of her classmates.

"Faith borrowed some clothes for you," Elena informs him breezily, handing Caroline her mug. "They're on top of the dresser."

"I know," Damon grumbles, "But I'll go naked before I'd be caught in a _Doctor Who_ t-shirt."

Caroline snorts. "Watching you freeze to death naked while all the Slayers vie for a chance to keep you warm would make my day."

Elena raises her spoon at Caroline teasingly. "Watch it," she warns her with laughing eyes.

Caroline gets up off her stool, taking her mug with her. "Well, I should go get dressed. If none of the clothes fit maybe I'll go naked myself," she jokes as she climbs the stairs. "It's not like I'll get cold."

"Yeah, good thing, too," Damon calls up after her. "No one is going to fight to keep you warm!"

Elena bites back her laughter at their antics as she opens the fridge to put away the pig's blood. As she does so, her eyes fall on the carton of orange juice crammed into the back. She smiles slightly, remembering the previous summer mornings when Damon used to come around for breakfast. He came by frequently, often staying the night due to his and Alaric's benders. When he did, he always cooked them breakfast while absolutely insisting she drink some orange juice with it despite the fact that she hated the stuff. Every morning he was there, they argued about it, and every time he'd find a way to convince her into drinking it anyways. It was silly, but it took her mind off Stefan and made her laugh even for just a few minutes. Elena grabs a large glass and pours it to the brim, plopping it in front of Damon with a smirk.

"Seriously?" he quirks an eyebrow. "Is this some kind of retribution?"

Elena smoothes his shirt, smiling. "You said it would help me become a strong, healthy doppelganger. I'm just repaying the favour."

"Ah, but I'm not a doppelganger," he tells her wryly.

"Lucky you," Elena murmurs, situating herself sideways in his lap.

"Cute PJs," he quips, suggestively eyeing her too small sushi covered pyjamas.

Elena frowns. "No deflecting, Damon; drink your juice."

"What do I get if I do?'

Elena raises an eyebrow enticingly.

"Sexual bribery; I like it." He raises the glass as if to toast and takes a small sip.

Elena leans her head on his shoulder. "You still owe me from last summer. We were all going to drive down to Virginia Beach, remember?"

Damon chortles. "Virginia Beach sucks anyways; I'll take you somewhere better." He thinks for a moment. "Jeremy would _love_ Brazil."

Elena smiles sadly, thinking of how much her brother loves the ocean. She bites her lip, deepening in her resolve to get him back. Damon kisses her cheek reassuringly.

"I should probably go get dressed," Elena sighs, trying to get off his lap.

"Wait," Damon pulls her back towards him grasping her chin and giving her a lingering kiss. "Good morning," he murmurs.

"Drink your juice," Elena says against his lips. She gives him another soft peck and slides off his lap brightly.

Upstairs, Elena sorts through the clothes Faith left her. Thankfully, she can make do with the jeans she wore the day before; the ones Faith left her are several inches too short for her height. She dons a black Harley Davidson shirt, as well as the dark blue Burberry coat that she saved for months to buy. Even after the dry cleaning it still smells faintly of gasoline from when Rebekah tried to light her on fire, but she loves it too much to replace it.

"Elena, Caroline?" Damon calls up the stairs. "Faith's here. Any chance you can speed up the primping routine?"

"We can't all roll out of bed as flawless are you are," Elena calls back. "We'll be down in a minute." She hears Damon chuckle, followed by the front door shutting behind him.

She gives herself a once over in the mirror. Without the constant bloodletting and the addition of several square meals a day, her cheeks are rounder and she looks much healthier. The stress of her young life is still visible in the rings under her eyes, but she lets it go; she doesn't have any make up. Her hair has grown out a bit, and un-styled, it forms gentle waves, a nice compromise between her former flat iron and Katherine's curls. Elena gives herself an approving nod and turns away from the mirror. She grabs Damon's leather jacket off the chair for him and heads outside.

The compound looks much less threatening in daylight, although it is far larger than Elena originally thought.

Her footsteps crunch on the gravel path winding from the wooded area surrounding their quarters towards the open, circular clearing where the main buildings are clustered. While the fence is still visible from the main area, it soothes Elena to see that most of it is blocked out by trees and buildings; it feels less like a prison.

The place is full of women—some around Faith's age, many Elena's age, and even some younger girls—all rushing around in and out of different buildings. Regardless of their age, they all have an air about them, a sense of authority but also a weighty responsibility that sets them apart. There is no doubt that these girls and women are Slayers.

Most of them chat animatedly with each other while they make their way around the pseudo-campus, but a handful stroll along by themselves, a haunted look in their eyes as if they've seen too much. Even the very young ones project a sense of maturity well beyond their years, hardly paying the four of them any mind at all. While Damon is the recipient of more than a few sideways glances, Elena can't help but notice the utter absence of whispers and giggling she's used to hearing follow in his wake.

Despite their obvious lack of attention, Caroline walks nervously through the compound, her back rigid despite the face no one makes any aggressive movements towards her.

Faith shows them around what is essentially the pseudo-campus, pointing out the many different buildings that consist of several types of gyms, dorms, classrooms and even a multipurpose building for dining and relaxing. "We've gone through a lot of changes in the last ten years or so," she explains. "There used to just be one Slayer at a time, but Willow unbound the magic because of an Apocalypse."

Damon and Elena nod, already aware of this, but the details surrounding the Slayer are all new to Caroline.

Faith shoves her hands into her pockets, stopping them in front of a huge, imposing building she hasn't explained the purpose of yet. "Originally there was an organization called the Watcher's Council back when it was just Buffy and I—"

"I thought you said there was only one?" Caroline interrupts, confused.

"There's only _supposed_ to be one," Faith replies. "It's complicated. Basically Buffy drowned and another Slayer was called, but then Xander gave Buffy CPR and she came back. So there were two of them. And then the Slayer that was called to replace Buffy died and I was called. So for awhile it was just us two."

Caroline nods in acknowledgment, processing the information.

"Anyways," Faith continues. "Things used to be more rigid, there was a Council that basically ran the show, did a lot of things to piss us off. They were already kinda corrupt, but then they were basically sacked and destroyed by evil itself in 2003, so afterwards we just took what could from what was left and started over here."

Elena rubs her hands together against the cold, wishing she'd had her gloves with her when they fled from Mystic Falls. "How exactly does this work anyways?"

Faith shrugs. "We're sort of a loosely bound organization these days; we have a team of people who recruit Slayers and bring them here if they want to join us. They train here for about a year or so and then they're assigned a Watcher. From there they go all over the world; they report back if they need back up or something big is happening. But mostly we work pretty independently; it's our nature." She gestures around them vaguely. "This is sort of a headquarters, if you will; we call it the Slayer Collective." She makes a face. "I told them it sounds like a creepy cult but I was over ruled."

"How do you train them?" Damon glances around critically. "Given you're already supernaturally adept that is." Elena can tell he's thinking of Jeremy. Something tells her his training tactics are probably not in the Slayer handbook.

"Yeah we are," Faith agrees. "And trust me, there's a real steep learning curve. But you know as well as I do it's really luck and skill that keep you alive."

Damon nods knowingly.

"I'm not really involved with recruiting and training new Slayers, but they work on a bit of everything," Faith continues. "Mostly endurance and tactical stuff. Their year here is pretty introductory: basic tactical advantages, history of vampires, intro to demons, that kind of stuff. Once they get matched up with their Watcher, they get one-on-one attention and they learn a lot more." She gestures to the imposing Romanesque building behind them. "The big draw here is the library," she explains. "Biggest collection of demonology in the world. Giles has spent his lifetime on it."

"Do the Watchers train here?" Damon continues his line of questioning as Faith starts walking again, moving them down a slight hill. Below them stretches an open, grassy area where girls are practicing archery, beyond that a small lake juts up against more woods.

"They do to an extent," Faith answers. "They have a separate school they go to, but they come here a lot for the library. Giles and Andrew handle them; Buffy and Willow are in charge of the Slayers."

"What do you do?" Caroline inquires, looking to the group of ten or so girls lining up with crossbows aimed at targets. A small, dark haired woman walks up and down the line, barking orders.

"I travel a lot," Faith replies hazily. "I don't like to stay in one place long. Mostly I investigate random things that pop up, like you guys."

Elena gestures towards the fence just peaking out over the treetops. "How effective is that thing? Will it keep Klaus out?"

Faith nods. "This place is magically cloaked; he won't even be able to find you. But even if he did somehow, Xander and Willow have comprised some of the best security in the world. You're absolutely safe here."

She turns to Caroline. "Even you. Anyone on this compound is under our protection; the Slayers know better than to hurt you."

Caroline visibly relaxes a bit at her words.

"Anyway," Faith continues. "I have to go deal with a few things before lunch; you guys can feel free to wander around. Caroline, if you could come with me, I'll show you where you can get more animal blood. We keep some handy for Spike."

Caroline nods and follows Faith, leaving Damon and Elena properly alone for what seems like the first time in ages.

"Want to go for a walk?" he asks, nodding towards the path leading to the woods. "Not sure how far this goes before we hit the fence, but we could try."

Elena grabs his hand and smiles. "I'd like that."

They stroll in silence for fifteen minutes or so, until they reach the relative darkness of the woods. "Look at us, doing something normal," Elena comments, swinging their entwined hands playfully.

"We're locked on a compound of vampire Slayers, Elena," Damon chuckles.

She grins. "Normal for us, then." Letting go of his hand, she hops onto a fallen log, balancing herself precariously.

"Careful," Damon warns, watching her with a protective gleam in his eyes. "You've lost your super balance."

Elena sticks out her tongue and takes a few elegant steps, her toes pointed like a gymnast, then dismounts gracefully. "I was a cheerleader remember? I have excellent balance."

Damon gives her a wicked smile and slings an arm around her waist. "Oh, I remember," he quips, pulling her close.

"Have you been smoking?" Elena asks, wrinkling her nose at the slightly bitter smell lingering on him. "Since when do you smoke?"

Damon takes a tentative whiff of himself. "I don't, usually. It got boring half a century ago. But I was standing next to Faith this morning; she was smoking while we were waiting for you and Caroline. Thought I'd see how it felt as a human." He shrugs nonchalantly. "I'm over it."

"Oh," Elena replies. "I guess you and Faith have kind of hit it off, huh?"

"Is that a hint of jealousy I hear, Miss Gilbert?" he teases.

"I'm not jealous," she denies lightly, pulling away and bending down to inspect a bit of heather growing at the base of a nearby tree.

Damon takes a step closer to her. "Elena. Your nose twitches when you lie."

She pulls a piece of the heather, and takes a small sniff of the pleasant smell. Her mother had always liked heather. "I'm not jealous, Damon," she tells him, straightening and trying to manoeuvre around him to continue on the path.

Damon catches her arm. "Elena, I know what you're trying to do."

"Continue our walk?" she attempts to deflect. "Yeah, you got me."

He raises an eyebrow at her quizzically, and Elena knows she's been caught. Really, she should know better; Damon is the king of deflection. "Are you kidding me? This is a classic emotionally repressed martyr move. You're putting Stefan to shame here."

Elena raises her chin indignantly. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Elena, I know you; you're trying to reject something you're feeling because you think it's wrong." Elena narrows her eyes at him, but he continues. "It's okay to feel jealous sometimes. There's nothing going on, and there's no reason for you to be, but it's okay if you are. You're _human_."

Elena shrugs off his arm. "No, it's not okay, Damon," she snaps. "It's not okay because _I know_ I have no reason to be, and there are thousand and one things I should be more concerned with right now. And above of all, it's selfish because I know you like her, and you don't like anyone."

Damon's brow crinkles. "That's not true."

"All I'm trying to say is," Elena rephrases, "I know you could use a friend. We all miss Alaric, but I think it's been hardest on you. If you enjoy her company, you should hang out with her."

"I'm not looking to replace Alaric, Elena," Damon spits defensively.

"I know that. But I want you to have friends, okay?" She takes both his hands in hers. "I want you to be happy."

Damon leans forward, both hands cupping the back of her neck. "I _am_ happy, Elena; I have you."

Elena slides her arms around his waist, leaning her head against his chest_._

_What happens when you aren't enough anymore?_ Katherine taunts in her head.

It seems as if her words are never far away these days, even if she and Katherine are oceans apart. If Katherine had intended to be cruel, Elena knows she could brush the words away without another thought; but for once, Katherine had been speaking the truth with no ulterior motive. And that makes a cut thousands of times deeper than any intentionally cruel words she could ever have mustered.

It's not that she thinks he will cheat on her or even that he'll leave her; she knows that nothing short of extenuating circumstances would separate them. And that is what worries her most: he would stay with her no matter how unhappy it made him.

Sensing her agitation, Damon tilts her chin up to meet his gaze. He leans closer, about to kiss her, when a sharp blast echoes through the quiet woods. Elena gasps as a sudden pain rips through her shoulder.

"Damon?" she cries out, her eyes wide with disbelief. She sees only a glimpse of his face, white with shock, as he tries to lower her to the ground a series of shots ring out, ripping into his chest. They stare at each other for a moment, in utter shock.

"Run," he manages to gasp as the realization hits him. Elena just manages to catch him before he collapses, biting back the pain in her shoulder she struggles against his weight, eventually lowering him to the ground.

Despite the agonizing pain in her shoulder, Elena manages to peel off her coat and press it against Damon's rapidly bleeding wounds.

"Don't move!" a harsh voice demands.

Elena looks up to see a towering man standing maybe two feet away, flanked by trees as he aims a handgun at her. Elena blanches, caught like a dear in the headlights; she's never had to stare down the barrel of a gun pointed at her before.

The man steps closer and Elena can fully see his dark hair and frantic eyes behind the barrel of the gun he keeps trained on her. "How did you get on the compound?" he inquires calmly.

Elena presses her jacket down harder on Damon's his wound to try and stop the bleeding, he's completely lost consciousness. She looks back up at the man with pleading eyes. "Please, help us," she begs, disregarding his question.

His face softens for half a second, then hardens with resolve. "I know what you are now, Katherine. Why would I help you?" he spits, taking a step closer.

"But I'm not—" Elena cuts herself off when she feels Damon's breathing becoming short and ragged under her hands.

Full blown panic sets in.

"_Caroline_!" Elena shrieks at the top of her lungs. "Caroline, help!" With a shaking, free hand, Elena pats Damon's face, trying to rouse him. "Damon?" She shakes him slightly, careful not to take pressure off his wound. "Damon, wake up. Look at me! _Please_!" She smacks him again, harder this time. "You can't die like this! You promised me," she whimpers quietly.

"Shut up!" the dark-haired man shouts, seething from Elena's pathetic pleas. "You're vampires on a compound full of Slayers. Who do you think is going to help you?"

"Try me."

Elena and the man snap to the other edge of the woods where a blonde woman emerges. At first, Elena believes it's Caroline. But when she steps into the light spilling down from some of the tree tops, she realizes the woman is shorter and several years older. She moves with a dignity that demands attention.

"Put the gun down, Robin," the blonde orders, her voice fuming with rage, beneath it simmers a strong undercurrent of authority. Elena has no doubt she's one of the Slayers.

For a moment, the man—Robin—doesn't move, but the blonde keeps her eyes locked on his and he quickly lowers his gun without a word. The woman moves to the injured couple and kneels beside Elena, studying Damon intently. Her resigned eyes match the downward curve of her lips.

"He's dying," she confirms softly.

"We can save him!" Elena chokes out desperately, tears streaming down her face. "Please, I just need—"

Before Elena can finish, a blonde blur crashes into the woods. Caroline pushes the other woman aside and leans over Damon, placing her wrist against his parted lips. Caroline puts her hand on Elena's shoulders as Elena cradles Damon's head in order to help the blood ease down his throat.

Relief floods through Elena as Damon coughs. His deep blue eyes snap open, fixating on her with a weak smile. Caroline pulls her already healing wrist away and Elena leans over him, sobbing with reprieve.

Caroline moves so she is sitting on his other side, "We have to get the bullets out," she explains as she opens up his jacket and rips apart his shirt as easily as if it were paper. "I saved his life, but they'll just kill him again if we don't dig them out right now. I think one hit a lung…"

Damon arches against Elena in pain as Caroline presses her fingers into the first bullet hole, but Elena manages to hold him still. He bites his lip as the blonde vampire wrenches her nails into the rapidly healing wounds, but makes no sound.

"It's okay," Elena softly strokes his cheek in attempts to comfort him. Within seconds, he passes out from the strain. She twirls locks of his hair between her fingers, humming softly, while Caroline continues to remove the bullets.

"Done!" Caroline finally exclaims. Her voice shocks Elena, but she reaches for Damon's wrists, feeling the rapid beat of his pulse dance under her fingertips.

"I think he's going to need a little more blood," she announces.

Caroline nods and cuts another small opening on her wrist. Elena lifts Damon's head and Caroline presses her opened skin to his mouth, forcing the blood to spill inside. It takes a few moments but his skin starts to return to its normal colour.

Caroline removes her wrist as Damon's eyes flutter open. "You know," he chokes out wearily, "If you wanted me to take my shirt off, all you had to do was ask. Preferably somewhere warmer."

Elena lets out a noise that seems to be half a laugh mixed with half a sob. "You're fine."

He squeezes her hand reassuringly, giving her a faint sideways grin. "I've survived Katherine, Rebekah and _Klaus_; you think I'm going to let a redneck with a few wooden bullets kill me?" He tries to sit up but Elena and Caroline both force him back down.

"You punctured freaking lung!" Caroline shrieks. "Stay still so it can heal!"

Damon acquiesces, lying back on the cold ground with his head back in Elena's lap. Elena adjusts his jacket, pulling it back so it covers him and arranges her own bloody coat on top of it, trying to keep the chilly air at bay.

"Elena, your shoulder," Caroline finally acknowledges.

"It's nothing," Elena snaps, keeping her attention fixed on making Damon lie still.

Now that Damon is alright, though, she does finally get a look at the man the Slayer called 'Robin.' He's quite good looking for a man who runs around the woods shooting at what he thinks are vampires. Both of his ears are pierced, which she finds at odds with his meticulous clothing. He stares back at her with a disturbing intensity, as if afraid she will attack at any moment.

The Slayer takes the gun from him and empties the chamber of the wooden bullets. "What the hell were you thinking?" she inquires calmly. However, there is an infuriated edge caught in her voice. She's tiny, but obviously strong, with shoulder length blonde hair pulled into a pony tail. Like Faith, she has a decided air of power about her. But where Faith does nearly everything with an almost reckless abandon, this woman radiates a sense of control. Her every move appears deliberate and precise.

"They're vampires!" Robin cries, gesturing to Caroline, Damon, and Elena.

"They're humans!" The Slayer exclaims, shaking with rage. "You brought a _gun_ onto the compound and you fired on _humans_." She draws back, letting her words sink in.

"But—" Robin stutters. "_That_ is Katherine Pierce!" he shouts, pointing at Elena.

"I'm Elena Gilbert," Elena foams, easing Damon's head of out her lap and climbing shakily to her feet. "I'm Katherine's doppelganger, her _human _doppelganger."

"And them?" Robin spits angrily, gesturing towards Damon and Caroline. "There is no doubt in my mind he's _Damon Salvatore_, and there's no other explanation in the world for—" He gestures towards Caroline. "—for _that_."

Adrenaline fuelled fury at Robin's attitude toward Caroline floods through Elena's veins. Despite the pain in her shoulder, she launches herself at him in rage.

"How dare you?" she shrieks, pummelling him with her fists. He tries to back away, looking to the Slayer, but she makes no move to stop her. "You don't even know us!" She brings an elbow to his nose, resulting in a satisfying crack. "You should be lucky I'm human, because if I wasn't, you'd be dead right now!" She kicks him in stomach, hard enough to bring him to his knees. "You think a few wooden bullets could stop a vampire that easily? Especially one as old as Katherine?" She stops kicking him and stands over him, hands on her hips, glaring at him with rage. "I was the crappiest vampire ever, and even _I_ could've snapped your neck in a heartbeat."

"Elena…" Caroline comes to stand next to her, grabbing her good arm. "Calm down. Let me look at your shoulder."

Elena throws one last nasty look at Robin and lets Caroline sit her down next to Damon. She bites back the pain as Caroline pulls her shirt aside and probes into her wound. The next few moments are sheer agony; when she finally comes out of the pain with the help of Caroline's blood, her coat is tucked around her. It's so soaked in Damon's blood that it doesn't give much warmth, but she puts her arms back into it anyways, grateful for whatever she can get. Damon is on his feet now, standing over Robin with his eyes fixed in a downright murderous gaze; she assumes he's been going for awhile but she only catches the end of his tirade.

"—don't care what species I am; I'll kill you in a second and I won't think twice about it," he threatens.

"Nobody is killing anyone," the Slayer interjects. She turns back to Robin. "You know how I feel about guns; you know they're not allowed on the compound. Does Xander know you're here?"

Robin nods. "I got here a few hours ago. He didn't say anything about _them_, though."

"Well why would he need to? You know the rules. Anyone here is under our protection, even vampires."

"You shouldn't be protecting vampires, Buffy!"

The Slayer's eyes flash. "That is _not_ your call, Robin!"

"What the hell happened here?" Faith shouts as she runs into the clearing. "I was talking to Caroline and suddenly she just took off." She looks at Robin with a quizzical expression. "I thought you were in Iowa."

"Yeah, that's the least of our problems," Buffy replies curtly, not taking her eyes off of him.

"I can see that," Faith announces as she assesses the situation. She looks to Elena and Damon, both covered in blood. "Do you need a hospital?"

Damon shakes his head. "No hospital," he looks down at himself. "Shower would be good, though. Any chance you've got a loofah? Gets blood out of those hard to reach places." He gives Elena wink. She knows he's trying to put her at ease, so she gives him a faint, reassuring smile in return.

"I'll take you back to the guest house," Faith offers. "You guys need to get out of the cold." She looks to Damon. "Can you walk?"

"If he can talk, he can walk," Caroline comments drily, helping Elena up. Her shoulder is still a bit stiff, but she already feels better.

"You said we were safe here!" Elena spits shrilly at Faith as they make their way out of the woods, leaving Buffy arguing with Robin.

Faith winces. "I'm sorry, Elena. I'm not sure what's going on, but I'll talk with Buffy. We'll deal with it, alright? In the meantime, everyone is okay, right? No harm, no foul."

"Damon almost died!" Elena cries in outrage.

Faith's face sets with resolve. "And I'm sorry it happened, but there's nothing I can do to change it."

Damon cuts in, his eyes frantic with anger. The weight of the day's events are finally beginning to sink in. "That's all you have to say to her? Do you have any idea what she's been through?"

"Damon..." Elena tries to calm him as they come to a halt at the front of their quarters. She already regrets what she knows was a misplaced outburst at Faith.

"I trusted you," Damon says to Faith, his voice thick with the hurt of betrayal. "You said you would help me keep her safe."

He brushes past her angrily into the house.

"Damon!" Elena follows him, catching up to him at the base of the stairs. "Hey," she says softly, grabbing his arm. "Look at me."

Elena nearly flinches at the hollow, lost look in his eyes. It is much more than just his perceived betrayal on the part of someone he took for a friend. It's the face of a man confronting the reality of his human frailty for the first time in a century and a half.

Elena takes both his hands in hers. "Come here," she says softly, tugging him up the stairs and into the bathroom.

He says nothing, only stares back at her blankly as the door clicks shut behind them, and she shrugs his jacket off him. It's ruined, peppered with three small bullet holes and seeping with blood. The shirt he was wearing beneath it is in tatters. She gently tugs it off him, examining where the bullet holes riddled his chest less than an hour ago. Small red marks remain where the tissue is still knitting itself together under the slick coating of blood.

"Elena?" he chokes out uncertainly.

"Shhh," she soothes, pushing him lightly to sit on the edge of the counter so she can ease his boots off his feet. "You're alright."

She flicks on the water to the shower, and then unzips his jeans, sliding them down his legs with his boxers so he can step out of them and into the warm water. Watching the blood stream off him and down the drain, she quickly sheds her own ruined clothes and climbs in next to him.

There's no loofah, but she grabs a wash cloth and softly scrubs away the blood that has congealed on him.

"That's better, hmm?" she inquires him softly when she finishes. Wrapping her arms around him, she leans her head against his chest. His head bows, tucking his chin on other side of her shoulder. They stay there for a long time, letting the water wash them clean.

"I wanted us to have lifetimes," he finally says. "I wanted to take you everywhere, show you Bali, Turkey...you've never even been to Paris."

"Hey," she rubs his back gently. "We can still do that. We'll just have to make it count."

"Elena, we haven't really talked about what happens...if we make it through all this. Whether you'll go to school, I'll get a job. That stuff."

Elena takes a hesitant breath; she tells herself she hasn't brought this conversation up because she doesn't want to push him before he's ready to handle it. But some part of her knows the real reason is her fear that if she does, she'll only find validation in Katherine's words.

Softly, she runs her thumb down his neck and over his shoulder, marvelling at how much warmth he gives off, how his skin flushes from the heat of the water. It's still so new to her. "First of all, I don't want to hear any ifs. We _are_ going to make it through this. But let's get through the Great Brother Rescue first," she finally says. "One thing at a time okay?" It seems to appease him for the moment because he gives a small nod against her.

"Thank you," he murmurs into her neck with lips soft against her wet skin.

"For what?"

He drops a gentle kiss on the top of her shoulder. "Everything. You were amazing today. Keeping your head and staunching the bleeding, yelling for Caroline. If you hadn't, I would have died."

"You'd do anything for me; does it really surprise you I would do the same?" She grasps one of his hands with her own and laces their fingers together.

"I've been on my own for a long time, Elena," he says with a crooked smile. "And when it comes to you, I'm used to being the one to do the saving."

"Not all the time," she proclaims teasingly. "I can think of multiple occasions I've prevented people from lighting you on fire."

He glides his free hand down her side, stopping at her hips, where he rubs his thumb in delicious circles. "I wonder what it is about me that makes people want to light me on fire," he jokes, resting his forehead against hers.

"I wonder..." she tilts her head up, giving him a wide smile, which he quickly captures with his lips. She sucks lightly on his bottom lip, pressing herself closer to him and twining her fingers into his hair. Her head is completely lost in him, separated entirely from their surroundings when the ancient shower gives an abrupt shudder, suddenly drenching them in cold water. Elena leaps back from the spray in shock.

"What the—" She wraps her arms around herself, shivering.

Damon turns around and flicks the water off, laughing. "I think the shower is trying to tell us something," he jokes. He grabs a towel off the rack next to the door, tucking it around her tenderly. "Good thing we have a bed, huh?"

Meeting his eyes, an idea slowly occurs to her. "You know what? I refuse to be judged by a shower," she challenges him, letting the towel fall to the floor. The spark she sees glint in his eyes more than makes up for her (temporarily) freezing condition.

* * *

Elena wakes to a sharp knocking sound.

Trying to block it out, she rolls over, curling herself closer to Damon's warmth, but the sound persists. Groaning, she sits up, rubbing her eyes. It was late afternoon when they finally drifted off to sleep, but now the moonlight streams in through their bedroom window. Next to her, Damon sleeps peacefully for once instead of his usual restless mumbling and kicking. He might be good in bed, but most nights he's an utter pain to actually sleep with.

"Elena," Caroline hisses, poking her head into the bedroom. "I've been knocking for like ten minutes."

Elena rolls her eyes at the exaggeration. "What do you want?" she hisses back, irritated.

"Bonnie's here," Caroline whispers sharply.

Elena sighs and nods. "Give me a minute; I'll be right down." She slips out of bed when Caroline closes the door, throwing a lamenting look at her ruined coat lying on the floor. She really ought to stop buying nice clothes since they only get destroyed. She manages to squeeze herself into a pair of Faith's jeans and a red t-shirt with _Dingoes Ate My Baby_ etched across the front. She isn't sure she wants to know what on earth that is.

Downstairs, Caroline is lying casually on the sofa with her feet in Bonnie's lap, telling her a long winded story. Elena immediately goes to her friend, who rises so quickly she sends Caroline rolling off the couch. "I'm so glad you're okay," she cries, pulling away to get a good look at her friend.

"I'm fine," Bonnie insists, her dark eyes filled with reassuring warmth. "I'm glad you're okay too; I heard you had an eventful day."

Elena looks away, "Yeah it pretty much sucked," she lets out bitterly.

"I doubt it _all_ sucked," Caroline teases, bouncing up off the floor with a grin. "I had to walk pretty far to get out of earshot of you and Damon."

Elena blushes. "I'm sorry."

Caroline gives her a sad smile. "It's okay. I can't remember the details, but I'm pretty sure I've had my share of he's-not-dead sex."

"Trust me, you have," Bonnie informs her. The smile dies on her lips after a moment, though. She gives Elena a knowing look, remembering their fallen friend.

Caroline perches herself awkwardly on the edge of the couch. "Is it okay if we talk about Tyler sometimes? I know I won't ever really remember unless someone convinces Kol to un-compel me, but I still know there's something ... I still miss him, even if I don't remember him. Does that sound crazy?"

Elena shakes her head. "Of course not, Care! Jeremy went through the same thing with Vicki. He said the grief is still there, it just manifests itself differently." She takes rubs Caroline's shoulder lightly, noticing she's changed out of the ill fitting black one she was wearing and into a soft blue sweater of her own. "We'll tell you anything you want to know, okay?"

Caroline nods grimly. "Right now, though, I just want to know how you got away from Klaus."

"It got pretty brutal," Bonnie explains bleakly. "The whole parking lot was destroyed. Elijah showing up distracted Klaus for awhile, but when he realized what had happened, he got really angry." She bites her lip. "He grabbed Matt, tried to compel him, but when he couldn't he...he snapped his neck."

Elena takes a rattled breath. "No..."

"He's fine," Bonnie reassures her quickly. "He had the Gilbert ring. After Klaus snapped his neck, he yelled some things at Elijah and managed to disappear. We assumed he went looking for you."

"Faith said this place is cloaked magically and he can't find us," Elena announces, her eyes worried. "I don't trust that though; not after today."

Bonnie holds her gaze for a moment. "Trust _me_ then, Elena." She closes her eyes, inhaling deeply. "If I concentrate, I can feel the magic working. There's so much it almost buzzes," her voice takes on that deep but calming otherworldly quality she gets when she is working magic. Her eyes snap open. "You're safe from Klaus here; I promise."

"Thank you," Elena chokes out gratefully. "Did Matt get off to LA alright?"

"I saw him and Sheriff Forbes get on a plane myself," Bonnie declares.

"Your Mom went with him?" Elena questions, turning her attention to Caroline.

Caroline bites her lip tentatively. "I haven't talked to her, but I think it's for the best. She needs to get out of that town before it kills her."

Elena silently agrees. Klaus probably wouldn't kill her out of his strange respect for Caroline, but he has a tendency for the unpredictable. It's best she is far away, just in case. Perhaps Angel could put her to work along with Matt; she would be a formidable assistant to his cause.

"I'm so glad to be back with you guys," Bonnie says, repressing a yawn. "But I should probably get to bed. Caroline?"

Caroline looks to Elena apologetically. "I figured you wouldn't mind if I moved to the other guest house with Bonnie. That way she's not alone and you and Damon can have some privacy."

"I'm sorry if we've made you uncomfortable, Caroline," Elena apologises, embarrassed that Caroline noticed their behaviour, but not embarrassed enough to regret a single second of it.

Caroline laughs. "_Me_? Uncomfortable?" She waves her off. "You don't have to apologise, Elena." Her face softens into a beatific expression Elena very rarely sees. "Do you know how nice it is to see you happy?" she exhales. "I know you're worried about Jeremy and Stefan...but you're happy too. And that's okay. You deserve to be." She takes a deep breath, gearing herself up to say something. "I know said some things about you and Damon that I shouldn't have...and I'm sorry." She looks at Bonnie with a half-smile. "Next time Bonnie tells me to butt out of your relationships, I'll listen to her."

Bonnie lets out a half laugh. "I'll believe _that_ when I see it," she teases.

Elena gives Caroline's hand a small squeeze. "You saved his life today. Thank you."

Caroline grins. "I owed him one."

Bonnie gestures to her black duffle bag and a tall suitcase sitting at the edge of the stairs. "I packed some stuff for you and Damon. You were pretty easy; I just packed what you already had at the boarding house, but I kind of had to guess with him."

Elena throws her arm around her friend. "Thank you so much, Bonnie. You have no idea how nice it is to have my own clothes."

Bonnie hugs her back lightly. "It's not a problem, Elena." She pulls away, eyeing the too tight jeans which hit Elena well above the ankles. "I can see you needed them."

Caroline loops her arm through Bonnie's and walks her towards the door. "We'll see you in the morning, alright? The whole gang is meeting at ten in the library."

Elena wishes them goodnight and shuts the door, locking it behind her.

She hoists the bags up and drags them upstairs. Exhausted, she peels herself out of the jeans and tip toes back to the bed in the semi darkness. Crawling over Damon, Elena nestles herself back into her cocoon of blankets.

"Where'd you go?" Damon mumbles sleepily, burying his face in the crook of her neck.

"I wanted to see Bonnie," she answers.

"And how is my favourite Halliwell?"

Elena frowns for a moment. "_Halliwell_?" Then it dawns on her. "Have you been watching _Charmed_?" She bites back a laugh.

"I was trapped in the house all day with a freaking vampire babysitter while you were at school. What can I say? Alyssa Milano is hot."

She pokes him playfully. "You totally identified with Cole, didn't you?"

He holds up his thumb and forefinger, pretending to pinch them together. "Little bit."

"Damon?" Elena says after a moment, not sure if he is asleep or not.

"What?' He replies, not moving.

She pulls back a bit, brushing a strand of hair off his face. "You saved Matt's life by giving him that ring. Klaus snapped his neck."

His eyes flutter open and he reaches for her hand. "I'm glad he made it."

Elena swallows. "I know you said that if it came down to me or Matt, you would save me. But thank you...for trying to save him, for doing what you could."

"It's _your_ ring, Elena. You should've just given it to him in the first place."

She shakes her head. "I couldn't do that, Damon. Matt is my friend, and I love him, but if I had to choose between saving you or him, I would choose you. You should know that."

He cups her face, his gaze heavy with intent. "There's a part of me that I don't think will ever forgive Stefan for not saving you. But I hope you never, ever have to make that decision."

She tucks her chin under his chest. "Me too," she whispers as she drifts off.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the delay with this chapter, it got far too long and I had to split it in two parts. I hope you didn't mind the heavy Delena chapter, I promise the next chapter there's lots more Buffy, I hope to have it up soon. Thank you all so much for all of your reviews/follows etc. they mean the world to me. Special thanks to my awesome beta Skye! **


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Just a quick reminder that this story picked up at the end of We'll Always Have Bourbon Street, therefore the events of Oh Come All Ye Faithful did not happen. Also, a warning: tiny bit of language in this chapter cause you know...it's Damon.**

* * *

**Chapter Twelve**

"_E-lena_," Damon sings, lightly nudging Elena awake.

"Mmmph," she replies, rolling over and burying her head back into her pillow.

"Wake up." He leans over to whisper into her ear, walking his fingers teasingly down the base of her spine as he does so.

Elena blinks against the morning sunlight and hides her face back under the covers. "Go away," she mumbles.

"Fine, I guess you don't want the breakfast I made you." He moves from his position sitting on the edge of the bed and flops down so that he's lying causally next her, his arms behind his head.

Her stomach growls in response. "Breakfast?" She peers out from under the covers.

Damon runs a hand up her arm playfully, an indulgent smile playing at his lips. "Yes. But you have to get up and come downstairs for it because Buffy got here ten minutes ago and she wants to talk to us."

Elena sits up, shivering against the cold of the bedroom. "What does she want to talk about?" She rubs her eyes blearily trying to clear away her morning grogginess. "Did something happen?"

"I think she just wanted to talk about yesterday." He turns, planting a soft kiss on her forehead, then her lips. Elena pulls him closer, deepening the kiss until he pulls away. "If I stay up here any longer we're going to have a cranky Slayer and burnt bacon," he murmurs, his head resting against her forehead. He drops another light kiss onto her lips and slides off the bed. "I'll see you downstairs."

Elena reluctantly crawls out of bed, quickly dressing herself in the thickest sweater she has, along with jeans and boots. This early Scottish spring is much cooler that Mystic Falls.

She pauses at the bottom of the stairs, enjoying the pleasant scent of maple syrup and bacon. She's surprised by the gentle domesticity of the scene; at the kitchen table, Buffy sits poised with a cup of coffee curled around her hands, nodding in response to something Damon is saying. He stands with his back to them in the kitchen, expertly flipping a slice of French toast off the skillet and onto a plate.

"Elena," Buffy greets her warmly. "We didn't really get to meet properly yesterday. I'm Buffy."

"Hi." Elena greets her with a tight smile. Despite Buffy's warm demeanour, there's something in her eyes Elena recognizes in her own every time she looks in the mirror. Buried under all her projected authority, her friendly attitude, lurks a profound knowledge of tragedy.

Damon turns around, waggling the plate in his hands over the counter for her to take. "Eat," he orders gently.

Elena takes it from him, deliberately brushing their hands together with an affectionate smile of thanks.

He replies with his own half smile, he seems to get a strange sense of enjoyment out of feeding her. "Sure you don't want anything, Buffy?"

Buffy shakes her head. "Thank you, I already ate." She sets down her mug firmly, her attitude conveying she is all business. "So I wanted to apologise for what happened yesterday. Robin is an old friend; he's helped us out of a few tight spots. Even though he's not technically affiliated with the Slayers, we've always welcomed him at the Collective. One of the rules here though is that guns are not allowed anywhere on the compound, a rule which he knew about and broke. "

Elena bites her lip, giving Buffy a non-committal nod of understanding.

"We're still trying to get to the bottom of what happened yesterday," Buffy continues.

"He's still here?" Damon spits dubiously, taking the seat across from Elena.

"We're keeping him in the basement of the multi-purpose building," Buffy explains. "We're still working on getting him to tell us what happened. He's not been in the know concerning what gone on with the two of you and Klaus but he claims he's been researching Katherine Pierce on his own," she pauses, taking a sip of her coffee. "According to him, he heard she was in Europe, stopped here for a few days to rest before going to find her, and coincidently ran into the two of you. Xander and I both think there's way more to it than he's letting on but...we were hoping you might be able to...help." She trails off awkwardly.

"What _exactly_ do you want us to do?" Damon seats himself across from Elena, smothering his French toast with maple syrup. "Because being shot at isn't really the ticket into my good graces."

Buffy leans back in her seat, sighing. "You don't trust us anymore. I get it. But we're going to need to work together if we're going to take down Klaus. You don't have to tell us anything you don't want to, but I was hoping you'd at least...hear him out?"

Elena stabs a piece of her bacon forcefully. "What makes you think we'll be any help to you?" she asks, mostly for Damon's benefit. It was obvious to her yesterday that Robin had some kind of history with Katherine and she's betting Buffy noticed as well.

Buffy's eyes are heavy with the weight of her responsibilities. "You guys know Katherine personally and we're pretty sure he does as well. We were hoping that maybe you help get him to talk."

Damon leans back in his seat with a dark expression on his face. He's never taken well to the hearing the K word, especially this early in the morning.

Elena looks down at her food awkwardly. "Why don't you let us talk about it and let you know?" she suggests hopefully, trying to dispel the tension that has settled in the room.

Buffy briskly nods, pulling her phone from her pocket to glance at the time. "It's eight o'clock right now. I have to go help Violet with something, but I'm going to see Robin right after. If you want to come, meet me at the multi-purpose building in thirty minutes. If not, I'll see you at the library at ten."

She leaves with a curt nod to both of them.

"So?" Elena asks as the door clicks shut behind Buffy. "What do you think?"

Damon delicately pops a bite of toast into his mouth. Elena always finds herself impressed by the elegant way in which he and Stefan eat. Even after all these years, their upbringing as Southern gentlemen sticks with them in the strangest ways.

He scowls. "I think Katherine's a massive pain in the ass and next time I see her she's getting a stake to the gut."

"Don't you want to know what happened?" Elena probes.

Damon rattles his spoon around in his coffee cup even though he drinks it black, almost like he needs the distraction. "I don't need to talk to him to know what happened, Elena. It's the same story it always is; Katherine wanted something, she seduced him, he fell in love, she left as soon as she got what she wanted. It's not exactly the great American novel."

Elena looks down at her food, thinking of a moment as she pushes around a few pieces of toast with her fork. "Maybe," she says, raising her head. "But don't you want to know what she wanted? Or why she left him alive? There could be more to this Damon," she suggests, her voice low. "If we help them now, maybe they'll be more willing to hear us out if it comes to using the white oak stake."

Damon pulls the spoon out of his cup and sets it down on his plate gently. "Don't worry about the stake; I took care of it," he assures her lightly. He casually takes a sip of coffee, trying to brush the matter off, but Elena can see right through his projection of normalcy.

Elena's eyes flash in astonishment. "What do you mean you took care of it?"

"I mean, it's taken care of," Damon says through gritted teeth, his voice hushed. He glances furtively towards the door Buffy walked out of a few moments ago, then and back at her. "The less you know the better, alright?"

"I thought we weren't going to keep things from each other." She drops her fork, letting it hit the edge of the plate with a resounding clatter.

Damon winces at the noise. "I'm not keeping things from you," he tells her evenly.

"Then why won't you tell me?" Her skin prickles with irritation.

Damon runs a frustrated hand through his hair. "Because it's better for everyone involved if you don't know."

"What are they going to do? Torture it out of me? There's no reason to lie to me, Damon."

"I'm not lying to you," he insists, offended at the insinuation. "I'm just purposefully not telling you something."

Elena angrily bites her lip to keep from reminding him he's acting exactly like Stefan. She stands and walks into the kitchen, taking her empty plate with her. "How long exactly has it been 'taken care of'?" She flicks on the sink and rolls up her sleeves. Grabbing a brush, she vigorously scrubs at the syrup stuck to her plate.

"Elena..." He comes to stand behind her.

"Dammit, Damon, just tell me," she exclaims. Abandoning the dishes, she reels around to face him, pointing the soapy scrub brush at his chest. He stands there, regarding her with an amused smirk on his face that makes her want to explode with aggravation. Is it so much to ask that she go two whole days without secrets? God forbid she be in control of something in her life for five whole minutes.

"I can't tell you, Elena." The words trip off his tongue sincerely, even with a sense of guilt; but to her they sound practiced, like all this time he's just been sitting on the sidelines, taking notes from Stefan.

"Why? Because you did something stupid and it's going to make me even madder?"

Damon's eyes flicker with momentary rage, but they settle quickly into rational concern. "No. Because it's not safe for you to know about it."

She flings the brush back into the sink where it lands with a splat, sending drops of water flying. "I think we've already proved that what I don't know _can_ hurt me. You can't protect me from everything!"

"It's not about protecting you, Elena," Damon sighs with annoyance.

Elena puts her hands on her hips, meeting his heated gaze. "Really? Because that's what it sounds like."

Damon's mouth curls and she realizes she finally triggered that raging undercurrent of intensity that always lurks beneath the surface. "You want to know what I did, Elena?" He cups her face with both his hands, forcing her to meet his eyes. "Do you really want to know? Because you're not going to like it."

"Just tell me!" she cries, jerking herself out of his grasp.

"Fine," he spits evenly. He leans back against the wall feigning indifference. "I gave Matt Donovan a list of places I thought it could be and asked him to find it and hide it somewhere else."

"You got Matt involved in this?" She chokes, her voice hurt.

His face softens and he tries to take her hand but she jerks away from him. Still, he stands close, his voice low. "I had to Elena; he wanted to help and we needed it."

"How could you do that?" Her voice cracks with hurt and fury. Her next words leave her mouth before she even really knows what she's saying. "That's why you really gave him the ring isn't it? So we could find the stake if we needed it someday."

Damon seems to process her words before she herself even realizes what exactly left her mouth. He reels back as if she slapped him. "Low. Fucking. Blow. Elena," he spits, his eyes filled with a fleeting glimpse of hurt followed by sheer fury.

"Matt is the _only _one who knows where it is. If anything, him dying would have further _solved_ our problem." He pulls away from her, radiating a quiet, cold wrath that is so much worse than his explosive rage. He storms away from her and a moment later the front door slams shut behind him.

Elena leans back against the wall, her head in her hands, once again regretting having hurt someone she loved with words she did not mean.

Leaving the dishes, she grabs the light jacket Bonnie packed for her, and takes off outside. Damon is long gone by now, and she lets him be because she knows he needs to blow off some steam, hopefully without completely self destructing. Despite the April chill, she strolls around the compound, trying to clear her head. She regrets her words but she can't make herself regret her anger at being kept in the dark.

She stops at the archery field where a group of ten or so girls are running through a series of exercises, armed with stakes. Faith stands at the front, shouting out commands as the Slayers all move as one, kicking and thrusting their stakes foreword gracefully. Leaning against the fence, Elena watches in fascination for some time as they go through their routine.

"All right girls, let's call it a day." Faith yells after about fifteen minutes. The girls break formation. Some of them give her a soft nod as they drop their stakes into a duffle bag and file past her, talking animatedly with each other as head up the hill. Faith picks up her water bottle, coming to stand next to Elena. "Hey," she says, sucking down some water. "You're up early."

Elena awkwardly shoves her hands into her coat pocket. "Just thought I'd take a walk. Clear my head, you know." She pauses awkwardly for a moment. "I'm sorry for yelling at you yesterday. I know it wasn't your fault."

Faith shrugs, looking wistfully at the sky. "It's cool. For what it's worth, I'm sorry it happened at all. If Hallmark made an 'I'm sorry my ex tried to kill you' card, I'd totally buy you one."

Elena finds herself smiling in spite of everything. "They should. I could use some."

"Yeah?" Faith gives a half laugh, closing her water bottle with her teeth and throwing it to the ground next to a large duffle bag of stakes.

"Sometimes," Elena answers, kicking the ground lightly. "Damon could use a boatload."

"Is he doing okay?" Faith tries to sound nonchalant, but there is a definite edge of concern in her voice.

Elena swallows grimly. "Yeah he's...fine." She hesitates for a moment. "He likes you, you know, but people he likes...they tend to die. That's why he's pushing you away. You just have to push back."

Faith nods, contemplating this as she twirls a stake expertly in her hands. "Wanna try what they were doing this morning?"

Elena looks at the stake in Faith's hands dubiously. "I don't know any of the moves," she admits. Sure she knows the gist of how to plunge it into a vampire, but other than the time she gut staked Stefan with a stake rigged wrist guard, she has little practical experience.

Faith tosses her the stake and Elena is surprised by how easily she catches it.

"There's nothing to it." Faith takes her by the shoulder and guides her away from the fence a few steps.

"So you want to stand with your feet about hip width apart," Faith instructs. Elena obeys, though she feels slightly foolish. "Now the first position is simple," Faith continues. "Raise the stake in your right hand, about shoulder level. Good, now bring it forward, keep your elbow up."

Faith guides her though a series of positions and soon Elena is manoeuvring the stake in a variety of new ways. She can't move near as fast as the Slayers can, but years of dance team and cheerleading have prepared her well and she moves through the positions like a dance.

"You're good at this," Faith tells her with a smile.

Elena grins back. "You're a good teacher."

"I don't usually do this," Faith says, waving her off. "I was just covering for Rona. Really though, you should ask Buffy. When it comes to the motivational teaching stuff, she's really gifted."

Elena throws the stake back in the bag with trepidation. "I wouldn't want to bother her. I'm sure she's got other stuff to do."

"We should talk to her after the Scooby meeting later." Faith hoists the bag onto her shoulder, heading towards a small storage shed. "I mean I'm happy to keep showing you stuff if she can't, but if you want someone who will really push you, Buffy's the girl to do it."

"You did really well with Damon in Mystic Falls. He's not exactly the easiest person to teach," Elena points out. "I think you're a better teacher than you realize."

"I can't take a whole lot of credit for Damon." Faith opens the shed and throws the bag of stakes inside, shutting the door behind her. "He already knows a lot of stuff; he just needs to relearn how to do it in a human body. His problem is he thinks he knows everything...which he kind of does."

Elena bites back a laugh. "Yeah, it's infuriating isn't it?" she jokes as they climb up the hill. She still feels horrible about what she said, but the exercise helped a bit. Her head feels clearer, her objectivity no longer compromised by sheer anger.

Faith chuckles. "Trust me, all men are infuriating."

When the girls reach the top of the hill, Faith glances towards the library. "I have to go take a shower real quick before the Scooby meeting. See you there?"

"Yeah sure," Elena replies.

Faith gives her a small wave as she walks away.

Elena glances at her phone; it's only a bit after nine but the chill of the highland April morning cuts into her light jacket, so she decides to wait in the library.

The Romanesque building nearly wards her off with its sheer size. Its front is guarded by a massive door, the intricately carved classical figures illuminated by the gleam of the morning sunlight. It looks incredibly heavy, but when she nudges it slightly, it gives, swinging open to reveal the largest library she has ever laid eyes on.

The inside of the building is all open, revealing multiple storeys, lined floor to ceiling with beautiful, dark bookshelves. It is lit by a large picture window that looks out onto the rolling green highlands below. Circular staircases at either end lend way to the next level, and the central space—along with the space in front of the roaring fireplaces—is dotted with large, long tables and chairs. Elena takes a few more steps into the room, her boots clinking on the marble floors. Breath taken by the beauty, she runs a finger along one of the old leather bindings on the nearest shelf; the title is written in gold curling letters in a language she can't read.

She pauses in front of one of the tables in the centre of the room. Someone researching has left a smattering of books and papers scattered across the table. Curious, she glances down at them, and almost immediately, her eyes catch on a familiar name.

_Katerina Petrova_

Elena leans closer, finding it to be an old journal of some kind. Dated February of 1865, it details an account of Katherine's arrival in Mystic Falls and the following events that transpired in1864. Elena reads through it eagerly, though she already knows the story. The events line up more or less with what she already knows, except the author declares that Katherine died in the church fire as the last of the Petrova line. Still, it is off putting to see the familiar story outlined so objectively, almost callously. She picks up the journal, curious to see if there is more, but as she does so, a glossy old photograph falls out, landing face down on the table. Elena picks it up by its edges, expecting perhaps a picture of Katherine; what she sees instead makes her breath catch.

Damon is seated at a table, leaning forward on his elbows to whisper something to the woman sitting across from him. His eyes are dropped, doing that flirty thing he often does, but even in black and white, his dark eyelashes stand out with a stark beauty.

As soon as her gaze falls on the woman next to him, Elena finds herself utterly fascinated. She's stunningly beautiful, not in a traditional sense, but in a way that emits a glow of charm and glamour. Her bobbed hair curls out into gentle waves in a way only a flapper could achieve and her dress, what isn't blocked by the table anyways, is a light coloured drop waist with intricate beading on the front. Her face is caught in a laugh, eyes alight with more than just joy; there's a teasing thirst of almost...revenge in them.

Elena blinks a few times, and holds the photograph away from herself, trying to clear her head. There's something vaguely familiar about this woman, something she can't quiet put her finger on. Her eyes fall to the spiky handwriting on the bottom of the photograph; _Monaco, 1924_, is all it reads. Clearly taken well after 1865, she wonders how the photograph even found its way into this particular journal. It's so lovely it looks like it should belong in an old movie, or on the page of a magazine, not shoved into some dusty old journal.

"Holy crap!" A voice exclaims from behind her. Elena jumps, dropping the photograph and journal onto the table. She reels around, her heart racing. A man with mussed, sandy blonde hair clutches the back of the chair next to her. Judging by his _Firefly_ t-shirt, worn with a blazer and jeans, Elena presumes he's probably the owner of the _Doctor Who_ one Damon scoffed at yesterday.

"I'm sorry, I—"

The man waves his hand off-handily with a gentle expression. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you it's just... that picture. Could I look at it please?"

Elena picks up the photograph by the edges and hands it to him. "It fell out of the journal," she explains nervously. "I didn't..."

"I know," the guy waves her off. "I wonder how that got in the 1865 journal," he muses under his breath. "I guess it doesn't surprise me though that Anya knew Damon Salvatore."

_Anya._

Elena thinks for a moment, trying to place the name.

"...the Salvatores seem to have a weakness for beautiful women," the man continues. "It's what started the whole debacle in 1864 anyways. Such a sad story really, what happened to them."

"I'm sorry...who are you?" she asks, confused.

"I'm—" he starts to answer but he is cut off by a distinguished looking older man who emerges from the stacks, a thick book in his hands.

"You have no idea who you're talking to, do you, Andrew?" he poses, his eyes alight with amusement. "Rupert Giles," he introduces himself, turning to Elena. He speaks with a thick, but yet soothingly articulate British accent. "And you are Elena Gilbert, I presume?"

Andrew looks at him in confusion; an expression which Elena is sure mirrors her own.

"Miss Gilbert is the Petrova doppelganger," Mr. Giles clarifies. "You shouldn't leave this information lying around though, Andrew. If you'd looked at your email like you were supposed to, you would know that."

Andrew's mouth forms a perfect oh.

"Don't mind Andrew," Mr. Giles informs Elena wearily. "He has a tendency towards the theatrical and an aversion to checking his email."

"You hate email!" Andrew snaps out of his daze to protest.

"Willow asked you to familiarize yourself with her research on the Petrova line while she was gone; clearly you haven't done that," Mr. Giles reprimands. "Or read the email I sent out _yesterday_ informing everyone of Miss Gilbert's arrival. If you had, I would hope you'd have recognized her."

Andrew looks down, slightly chagrined, and Elena can't help but feel bad for him.

Mr. Giles sets his book down on the table. Elena peers at it out of the corner of her eyes, fascinated by the strange language it appears to be written in. "It's nice to meet you, Miss Gilbert."

"'Elena is fine, Mr. Giles," she tells him warmly.

"We just call him 'Giles,'" Andrew interjects. His voice is high pitched, but there is something incredibly endearing about him.

Giles rolls his eyes. "Yes, thank you, Andrew," he retorts crisply.

Elena holds up the journal she was looking at. "Where did you get this?"

Giles pushes his glasses up his nose. "Those are the Watcher's journals," he announces. "That one belongs to Edmund Carton, I believe. He was stationed in Richmond, but due to the war, he didn't arrive in Mystic Falls until it was too late I'm afraid. By the time he managed to get there, the vampires were dead—or so everyone thought—and the Salvatores were long gone. He managed to get a fairly accurate account from the locals, it seems."

"I'd have to agree," Elena comments, flipping to a new page of the journal. Instead of Katherine, this one starkly details of both Damon and Stefan's human lives; starting with Damon's birthday on December 7th, 1840, something he's always refused to tell her. She stops skimming after the date though, not wanting to violate his privacy.

"We found a picture of Anya in there." Andrew hands Giles the photograph. "Don't you think that's strange?"

Giles studies the picture carefully. "Yes, that is rather...odd."

"Do you think I could borrow this?" Elena asks, flipping the journal shut. She doesn't want to go through it without talking to Damon first, but maybe they could look at it together.

Giles glances at it, slightly distracted by his examination of the photograph. "If you want to, I don't see why not. Just make sure you bring it back."

"Thank you." She glances at the pile of journals and papers scattered about the table. "So you've been researching us?"

"Yes, we've been doing some research since you and Katerina showed up in London looking for Spike," Giles explains, tucking the photograph facedown into his breast pocket. "In all my years, I've never come up with a doppelganger case quite like this; it's quite fascinating really. I wish we could have Katerina here as well, but I've been informed that she seems to have run off..."

"Trust me, that's the best thing for this entire hemisphere," Damon quips as he strolls into the room flanked by Bonnie and Caroline. Elena can tell from his dark expression he is still in a mood from this morning, not that she can blame him. She keeps the journal in her hands, but folds it under her crossed arms.

"You're—" Andrew stares at Damon with a combination of shock and awe.

"Damon Salvatore," Giles says firmly, surveying Damon almost clinically. Damon holds out a hand to him, which Giles takes neatly. "I'm Rupert Giles."

Damon gives him a curt nod, and shakes his hand.

Letting go, he gestures to Caroline and Bonnie. "This is Caroline Forbes and Bonnie Bennett."

"It's nice to meet you," Caroline greets, giving him a warm, Miss Mystic Falls smile. She pulls out one of the chairs and seats herself, smoothing down her skirt. Bonnie gives him a small smile and seats herself next to Caroline.

"Where are Willow, Xander and Buffy?" Giles asks. "...and Faith," he adds as an afterthought.

"I'm right here," Faith calls, sidling into the room while pulling her wet hair up into a ponytail. She casually perches herself the edge of the table next to Caroline.

"Everyone else is finishing up with Robin," Damon explains. "They'll be here soon." Elena presumes he went to the questioning with Buffy after all, she tries to catch his eye, but he ignores her, taking a seat at the far end of the table.

Giles sighs. "Faith, don't sit on the table, please." Faith rolls her eyes and hops off the table, taking a seat in a chair instead. Elena seats herself next to Faith with several chairs between herself and Damon, who is angrily skimming through one of the books in front of him. Across from her, Caroline raises her eyebrows, but Elena silences her with a look.

Even still, the tension between the two of them is palpable to everyone but Andrew, whose glance flicks between Elena and Damon like they are fascinating new specimens.

"Sorry we're late," Buffy apologises, bursting into the room with Xander, Willow, and Elijah at her heels. "We were having a conversation about Robin and how he managed to get a gun onto the compound."

"Robin brought a gun onto the compound?" Andrew cries out, surprised.

Xander rolls his eyes. "Here's a tip for you," he starts snippily, "Leave the library on occasion."

"Yes, well let's commence with our meeting, shall we?" Giles replies wearily as if he is used to having to keep the peace. He gestures to the remaining seats. Elijah seats himself on the other side of Faith; he sits as poised as ever, back straight, hands folded politely. Elena doesn't think she's ever seen him so much as touch the back of the chair. Across from him, Willow plops down on the other side of Bonnie. Xander pulls up a chair from one of the empty tables and turns it around, sitting backwards next to where Giles stands.

"Andrew!" Buffy reprimands, leaning against the shelf behind them. "Stop staring; it's rude." Andrew guiltily tears his gaze away from Elena and busies himself with gathering up the papers scattered across the table.

Xander surveys the awkward group of people sitting before him. "So... should we all get acquainted first or should we just start with how we're going to take out Mr. Fur and Fangs?" he asks flippantly.

"Or we could start with Anya," Andrew pipes up, hopefully.

"Anya?" Xander stares at him in confusion. "What about her?"

"You could show the tiniest bit of tact you know," Giles scolds Andrew, scathingly. "This is not something we need to discuss as a group."

"What does any of this have to do with Anya?" Buffy bristles.

Giles takes his glasses off, wiping them on the end of his shirt. "It has nothing to do with the matter at hand. I suggest we continue with our discussion about Klaus."

Xander shifts in his seat, clearly agitated by this subject of conversation. "What's this about Giles?" His voice is quiet, perturbed.

"I think I know," Willow's eyes shift guiltily from Damon to Xander. "I'm so sorry Xander; this is my fault."

Giles resignedly hands Xander the photograph. Xander raises his eyebrows as he sees what is on it and looks towards Damon. "Well...this is awkward." Elena shifts slightly in her seat, feeling Willow's eyes fall on her.

"It would be nice if someone would tell me what 'it' is," Damon snaps, irritated. "Why are you all looking at me like that?"

Xander sets the photograph down on the table. Almost comically, everyone at the table but herself, Willow and Xander peer over to get a look at the picture. Elena feels Caroline and Bonnie's eyes on her, but she refuses to engage with their pity. She isn't jealous, merely curious with a tinge of embarrassment at their misplaced pity.

"This is my fault." Willow's brown eyes fill with guilt. "I didn't mean to...it was just..." she turns to Xander, her whole body tense. "When we first started cataloguing the library materials, years ago, I made a file for Anya, just like I did with all the other demons and vampires. I knew you'd look in her file sooner rather than later, but you were still grieving and I didn't want you to get upset by her picture so I...stuck it in with the Salvatore and Petrova stuff instead." She relaxes a bit as she finishes her confession but her eyes still dart around the room like a scared deer. "I completely forgot all about it. This was years and years ago. I never in my wildest dreams thought we'd ever need to research the Petrova stuff."

Xander gives her a forgiving smile. "It's okay Will." He turns to Damon. "So I guess you knew Anya?"

Damon's lip curls in response. "I know her as 'Anyanka.'"

_Anyanka_. Elena remembers now: Katherine's friend, the vengeance demon. She tries to catch Damon's eye, but he still won't look at her.

"Damon is not the only one." Elijah interjects calmly. "Willow misplacing this photo may actually have been a stroke of luck indeed." He surveys them all passively. "Anyanka is older even than myself and she spent some time over the years with my brother and I. I had not considered this before, but she may know something of use to us. Niklaus was quite fond of her once— this was before he lapsed into his current state of paranoia."

"She knew Katherine too," Elena says quietly. She knows Damon is not going to handle this well but she cannot remain silent. "She tried to call on her in LA. I think...I think they were friends."

Elijah's generally indifferent expression melds itself into something akin to mild surprise, but he quickly rearranges his features to hide it.

Damon however makes no show of it; his eyes roll back in his head, his face contorting with revulsion. "You have got to be fucking _kidding_ me."

"It would explain..." Elijah trails off. "Well it might explain the falling out between Niklaus and Anyanka during the late 15th century. I don't recall ever seeing Anyanka and Katerina together, but it is certainly possible I wasn't the only one who sought to help Katerina avoid the sacrifice. Niklaus and I had a falling out of our own over that, so I never found out why he severed all his ties with Anyanka."

"Katherine knew her as a human," Elena contributes. "Something about helping her exact vengeance. Maybe that's how Katherine even wound up in England in the first place?"

Elijah shakes his head thoughtfully. "It depends on if Anyanka was aware Katerina was the doppelganger. If she was, I don't know why she would have pointed her towards Niklaus only to help her escape. Unless she had a change of heart..." He shakes his head slightly. "I suppose it doesn't really matter. Although I think we can safely assume that if Anyanka knows anything about how to destroy Niklaus, she didn't tell Katerina." He glances at Xander. "Does anyone know where we might find Anyanka?"

Buffy comes to stand behind Xander, almost protectively. "Anya's dead. She's been dead for ten years now."

Caroline interrupts the hush of reverence that falls over the room. "If she was a demon or whatever, she'd be on the Other Side though, right?" She turns to Bonnie. "You contacted Emily that one time; couldn't you do it again?"

"Emily was a witch and my ancestor," Bonnie answers. "That makes it a lot easier. Plus, because of Damon and the tomb, she'd been waiting for me to contact her. She managed what she did because I pulled and she pushed. If we had Jeremy it would be a snap, but..." She trails off, lost in thought.

"I want to try." Willow announces after a moment, breaking the sudden silence. The determination in her eyes radiates raw power, reminding Elena that just because Willow generally looks harmless does not make her so.

Xander's eyes grow wide. "Really?"

"I can't make any guarantees it will work, but I want to try. Together Bonnie and I are packing a lot of power."

Giles's brow furrows with a concerned expression, but Willow holds up a hand to silence him before he can say anything. "I can handle this Giles," she reassures him. "Contacting the Other Side isn't about using corruptive magic; it's just about having enough power to maintain a connection. We'll have salt to keep anything else from getting through." Giles raises a sceptical eyebrow. "Between Bonnie and me, I think we can do it." Willow insists. "It'll have to be brief though. Xander if there's something you need to say to her..."

He shakes his head sadly. "There's a thousand things I _want_ to say, Will. But I think we already said the things that matter."

Buffy grabs a piece of paper off the table. "Okay Will," she breezes, lightly, though her face remains serious. "What are you going to need?"

"Candles of course," Willow holds her hand as if she is mentally ticking things off on her fingers. "...salt...I'm also going to need something associated with Anya."

"Like what?" Xander inquires. "I know we shipped some of our stuff out of Sunnydale before everything got all Hellmouth-y, but I don't have any of her things."

Willow smiles. "Anya might have been a vengeance demon for centuries, but she died a human." Her voice softens. "A human who loved you. Your physical person is probably the strongest connection we can forge. I think we should wait until the moon rises tonight though and do it outside. It will give us an extra bit of power."

"We'll do it tonight then." Buffy stands with her hands on her hips. "But if this doesn't work, we're gonna need a Plan B."

"If this doesn't work then we'll go ahead with what we were going to do anyways," Bonnie replies. "We think the ingredients Esther drew upon are the key to undoing the magic."

Caroline leans back in her chair, clearly becoming bored with the proceedings. "Can't we just desiccate him like we did before?" She growls in frustration.

Willow shakes her head. "We have to stop a human heart to do that. And even if we found an ethical way to do it, that kind of magic corrupts. We could wind up with some seriously bad consequences, maybe even worse ones than Klaus."

Buffy looks sternly to Willow and Bonnie. "If this thing with Anya doesn't work, you guys have a week to find something. If you can't find a way to do this magically by then, we're going to have to find another solution. We haven't got a lot of time," she warns darkly. "He's already sired his hybrids." She turns to Elijah. "Do you have any idea what he intends to do with them?"

He shakes his head. "No, but I assure you, nothing good can come of my brother having them. We're going to need a lot of manpower just to get to Niklaus."

"According to my research, in the last six hundred years, nine Slayers have taken on Klaus and none of them has lived to tell the tale," Giles warns. His voice quavers with concern. "This is not something we can go into lightly."

Damon leans forward unto his elbows. "And hybrids are a lot harder to kill than your everyday vamp," he adds for Faith and Buffy's benefit. "If you don't take out the head or the heart, they just keep coming."

Caroline twitches slightly in her seat. "What if we had hybrids too?" She suggests excitedly. She turns to Faith. "You said that they're in safe houses in the States right? What if we got them to fight?"

"Would they though? I mean they're safe where they are," Damon throws out, unconvinced. "Do they really hate Klaus enough to risk allying with us and possibly dying in the attempt to take him down?"

"They might for Tyler," Elena speculates after considering this for a moment. "I mean he was their alpha and Klaus killed him. Maybe if there was a way to rally them?"

Damon finally faces her, his eyes dark, mouth twisted into a sinister smirk. "And how would you doing suggest that, Elena?" he inquires acidly. Elena flinches slightly at his tone but then narrows her eyes at him, trying to convey he doesn't bother her.

Bonnie looks between them, knowing she is caught in the middle of something she doesn't quite understand. "Caroline," she suggests. "They'd do it for Caroline."

Elena shakes her head. "They tried to torture her."

Damon's fingers rap irritation against the table. "Actually Caroline might work. Tyler made them submit after that, correct?" Elena nods in agreement. "She might be able to rally them on Tyler's behalf."

"Um...slight problem," Caroline interrupts. "I don't remember Tyler, remember? How am I going to rally a bunch of hybrids to fight on behalf of a guy I can't even remember?"

Bonnie's eyes glint with amusement. "Caroline, you ran for student body president as a sophomore, even though you even technically weren't allowed, and you still managed to beat all the seniors. If anyone was born to do this, it's you."

A small smile tugs at Caroline's lips. "And I did it all without even compelling anyone. Wait, do you think that would work if I tried to run for President?"

"Let's just stick with rallying the hybrids," Giles replies despairingly.

Xander waves an arm in the air to get their attention. "Um...how are we going to do that? Angel's got them locked away somewhere."

"What about just making a video?" Faith suggests. "We could record her and send it to Angel. He could make sure it gets to all the safe houses and if they want to join us, he could help get them here. Couldn't he?"

Buffy nods, considering this. "I think it could work. Andrew could help with that. Could the two of you get started this afternoon?"

"Actually I was—" Andrew's protests fall from his lips as he meets Buffy's gaze. He gulps once. "Let's do it," he tells Caroline enthusiastically. She gives him a small smile of encouragement.

"In the meantime," Buffy continues. "Tonight is our top priority. Let's meet in the archery field at say eight?"

* * *

As soon as the meeting adjourns, the group scatters themselves, Damon at the lead, radiating a cold fury as he storms outside. Elena watches him go with apprehension, unsure how to make everything right. While she waits for a moment to approach Buffy about training, she leans against the edge of the table, almost enjoying the fact it digs into her back.

She's literally yanked out of her musing by Caroline's vicelike grip. "What the hell is going on with you?" She attempts to whisper, but fails at it rather pathetically. "I practically had to drag you two off each other yesterday."

Elena tries to wrest her wrist out of Caroline's hand, but she is having none of it. "Drop it, Caroline," she whispers, finally wrenching herself out of her grasp. She rubs her wrist a few times, wondering if it will bruise. "I don't want to talk about it."

Caroline cocks her hip to one side, her expression sceptical. Elena braces herself for the theories she is sure are about to come pouring out of her mouth when Buffy catches her eye.

"Elena?"

Elena breathes a sigh of relief, much to Caroline's indignation. She pats her friend on the shoulder and joins Buffy and Faith in their conversation.

Buffy examines her with arms crossed as Elena sidles up to them. "So Faith thinks that you would benefit from training with me. What do you think?"

Elena gulps; despite the genuine personality Buffy seems to project, she is still incredibly intimidating, perhaps in some ways more so than even Katherine. "I already know some things but I want to be better," she states firmly. "My brother needs me."

Buffy brushes a strand of hair away from her face. "Look, I'm going to be blunt with you. I don't want to take you into battle. But Willow seems to think that Klaus or not, your blood might be a catalyst for all kinds of crazy magic. So whether we take him out or not, there's a good chance you'll always be in danger. And for that reason, I think you should be able to fight."

Elena swallows with apprehension, she has guessed this may be the case, but it is a horrifying thought. If she had been given a choice to stay a vampire or not, it is certainly something she would have considered a factor in her decision.

She meets Buffy's gaze head on. "Then I want to train."

Buffy smiles in response. "We'll start tomorrow then. Faith will continue working with Damon. Meet me at the gym at six thirty tomorrow morning."

* * *

Elena returns to the guest house only to find it deserted, the breakfast dishes still piled in the sink. She doesn't bother to stay, just throws the journal onto the kitchen table and takes off again, trying to think of where Damon might have gone.

She starts by following the path that leads through the woods behind the house; after about thirty minutes of fruitless searching she finally glimpses a shock of black hair dark against the green of the trees. Grateful for her boots, she trudges off the path and into the woods.

Damon sits on the ground, his back resting against a tree, staring out morosely. Elena sinks to the ground across from him, resting her own back against a tree opposite him. They sit so close; when she stretches out her feet slightly, they touch the tips of his boots.

He regards her for a moment; the day's revelations weigh heavily in the set of his shoulders. "Are you here to make sure I haven't done anything stupid?" he inquires, his voice dripping with bitterness.

Elena shakes her head. "I hate how we left things this morning," she starts. "I'm so sorry."

His brow creases with anger. "Great. Thanks. That makes everything better."

Elena bites her lip, hating herself for hurting him so badly. "Damon...what I said this morning. I didn't mean it alright? My temper got the better of me and I didn't even realize what I said until the words left my mouth. I was just so frustrated that you wouldn't tell me."

Damon sighs heavily. "Elena, did it ever occur to you that for once it wasn't about you? I didn't tell you to protect Stefan. And Caroline. And _Matt_. Why don't you think for a second what would happen if the wrong person found out what you knew?"

Elena blinks, shocked at this new information. If only she'd thought of that earlier. "Damon I— I wish you'd said that this morning."

He shakes his head. "Well maybe you should have trusted me," he snaps.

Elena bows her head. "It wasn't about trust. I trust you with my life. I trust you with more than my life. It was about control. I just wanted...to feel like I had some power over something. For just a second. Can't you understand that?"

He gives a harsh laugh, shaking his head. Elena knows he's thinking of Katherine and all the strings she's pulled in his existence. "You have to stop being hypocritical about this, Elena. Matt _wanted_ to help. Matt would give up his life for you and Caroline and Jeremy and you know that. You can't just act like its okay for you to do it and not for everyone else."

"I don't want anyone else to die because of me."

Damon leans forward onto his knees. "You're going to have to get it through your head; people are _going_ to get hurt."Elena looks away. "But I think we both know that stopping Klaus is about a whole lot more than you now."

She bites her lip. "I know it's about more than me," she breathes. "But I don't like it either way." She slumps back against the tree, wrapping her arms around her legs. "What happened this morning? With the Robin thing?"

Damon pulls up a bit of grass, twirling it around in his fingers. "Pretty much what I expected. Elijah and I were apparently intimidating enough that he became a sudden wealth of information. Elijah didn't even have to compel him other than to check his story."

"Did he say anything interesting?"

"It was pretty standard Katherine. She was trying to get information about the Slayers, something about a weapon...she compelled him..." He waves a hand lazily. "...etcetera. The only interesting thing was that he had a bad accident a few years ago and suffered some head trauma. That's how the compulsion started to wear off."

"I didn't know that was possible."

"Yeah, I didn't either but it seems plausible to me. When you're compelled, everything in your mind is still there, it's just...blocked. It can be broken, as you've seen."

Elena nods in acknowledgment. "Jeremy said there was something missing when it came to Vicki, even though he couldn't remember. It's the same for Caroline."

"Like I said, it's all still there in your subconscious; you just can't consciously recognize it. Like when you started throwing around the word 'consumed,' even though you shouldn't have been able to remember."

Elena feels her lips form into a half smile. "I bet that threw you off."

He flings the piece of grass at her playfully.

"It's not a perfect solution, but I bet Caroline could compel me to forget," she suggests, picking the grass off her jacket. "She wouldn't have to know what it's about."

"She's going to be mildly suspicious."

Elena shrugs. "It's Caroline. I can handle it." She nudges his foot slightly with her own, her head cocked with concern. "Are you okay...after everything today? First with Katherine and now with this Anyanka thing?"

He stretches his legs out, pulling hers into his lap. "It's nothing. I haven't even seen Anyanka in...twenty years at least."

"It looked like you guys had fun. It was a gorgeous picture," Elena points out. "Like something from an old movie."

Damon laughs bitterly. "I know that picture looks all glitz and glamour, but really it was a lot uglier than that. Anyanka and I weren't friends. We didn't even like each other very much. She was all about retribution for scorned women and I was all about... scorning them."

"So why—" Elena starts, puzzled.

"I hated everything then," Damon interjects. "I was so angry about what happened to Katherine that I just wanted everyone to suffer as much as I did. And Anyanka was all about the vengeance. So sometimes she'd show up, we'd spend a few days in a haze of sex and blood. Then she'd be off again. That's all it was really. Hate sex and vengeance."

"Oh."

"It would have been interesting to see what she was like as a human though," he muses. "She always was wicked clever."

"Maybe you could ask Xander?" Elena proposes timidly. "Or any of them really. They obviously knew her."

Damon shrugs. "It doesn't matter. It's all in the past anyways." He lifts her legs off his lap and sets them gently back on the ground. "Let's go inside. It's cold."

He holds out a hand to pull her up and she takes it, twining her fingers in his as they set out to face whatever their ghosts their evening might hold.

* * *

**A/N: I'm thinking this will be the last really long chapter. I'd like to start making them shorter but hopefully more frequent from this point on. How do you all feel about that? Thank you to Skye for the beta and for everyone who has read/reviewed/followed etc. You are all such wonderful people and I truly appreciate all your feedback and support! Stay tuned for the Anya ritual and Elena's training with Buffy : ) **


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

Tendrils of the harsh fluorescent light from the driveway spill down the hill as Elena and Damon make their way towards the archery field. Despite the extra pair of socks and the addition of Caroline's plum coloured coat, Elena feels the chill permeating to her very bones as she picks her way down the footpath. It is only eight in the evening, but the heavy darkness feels so tangibly thick it may as well be the dead of night.

As they stumble down the last part of the steep hill, Elena spots Buffy, Xander, Willow, Bonnie and Giles moving about the field illuminated by the eerie glow of their flashlights.

Bonnie greets them with a wan smile, straightening from where she is bent over setting up a wide ring of candles. "We're almost ready," she informs them. There is no telling trace of anxiety hovering on her features, but her eyes are preoccupied, focused on what they are about to attempt.

"Okay, I need everyone but Xander and Bonnie to take a giant step back," Willow announces. "I'm going to sprinkle the salt which is going to bind everything in this circle so nothing supernatural gets out during the spell."

Damon nearly takes out Elena's foot in his haste to get away from the edge.

"Easy!" she exclaims, barely managing to hop out of his way.

"Just testing your reflexes," he teases, trying to pass it off. Elena takes his hand reassuringly. He would never admit it, probably not even to himself; but it is evident to her that while he's finally come to trust Bonnie, he remains wary of Willow. Despite her own trust of Willow, she can't blame him; after all he's been screwed over by witches more than once.

"Hey guys!" Caroline materializes directly in front of Elena, distracting her from her thoughts and sending her pulse skyrocketing.

"Must you?" she asks, trying to catch her breath.

"Sorry," Caroline replies brightly. After the gloomy afternoon she spent helping with the hybrid video, Elena is glad to see her friend's cheerful demeanour, even though she's afraid it might only be masking her real grief.

Before she can open her mouth to greet her, Caroline grabs her arm and drags her over to Buffy, gushing about how good she looks in her jacket. Elena shoots Damon an apologetic look over her shoulder as Caroline pulls her away but he only smiles and strikes up a conversation with Giles instead. Elena feels a tug in her heart—the good kind— as she lets Caroline drag her away. She likes that this is how they are together, never hovering but always within reach of one another.

Crossing her arms against the chill, she tunes out slightly while Caroline grills Buffy about shopping in Edinburg; over Buffy's shoulder she notes Elijah and Faith making their way down the hill and towards them, their heads bent in conversation.

It takes a few minutes for Willow to complete her ring of salt, glancing up at the moon to check how high in the sky it is. "We're ready," she announces breathily. "Bonnie, would you like to do the honours?"

Bonnie steps into the centre of the circle and raises her hands, stretching them out in a way Elena has seen her do many times. She throws her head back, the feeling of power washing briefly over her face. All the candles roar to life at once, throwing a warm glow over them that provides a nice contrast to the harsh flashlight bulbs.

Giles clicks off his flashlight and draws nearer to the circle. The rest of them follow his lead, but they all remain a safe distance from the edge of the salt.

"So here's how it's going to work," Willow explains. "A lot of different things can happen when you try to contact the dead so I want you guys to be careful. If nothing goes wonky, Anya won't have a physical foothold. I'll be able to ask her some questions and you all will be able to hear her, but she'll only be able to hear those of us in the circle." Willow surveys them all intently. "Don't panic if something weird happens and come rushing in the circle. If something really goes wrong, Giles knows what to do."

Giles nods grimly, still wary of what they are about to undertake. Elena glances around at her companions.

"So..." Xander breaks the silence that falls over them. "Where do you want me?"

"Centre would be best," Bonnie replies primly.

Xander lies down in the centre of the circle, resting his arms behind his head. "Now what?"

Bonnie and Willow seat themselves cross-legged on either side of him.

"Just lie back and try to think about Anya while we do the spell," Bonnie instructs with a toss of her head.

"Well it's kinda cold, but hey. I've had worse nights," Xander quips. He stretches himself out lazily in the middle of the circle arms under his head, staring up at the stars.

Willow looks to the rest of the group. "Those of you who knew her, it wouldn't hurt for you to think about her too while we're doing this. It might help foster a connection."

Willow holds out her hands and Bonnie takes them. Both girls bow their heads in concentration. As Willow begins a chant in a strange tongue, the candles flicker, jumping a few inches higher before finally settling.

The soothing drone of Willow's chanting makes Elena want to fall into a deep sleep, but the chill of the evening keeps her constantly in motion. She notices she's not the only one either. It is very easy to tell the humans from the vampires by their frequent stamping feet and flexing hands in attempts to keep the chill at bay. Caroline and Elijah, however, remain predominantly still with the occasional fidget on Caroline's part.

In the circle, the cadence of Willow's chanting becomes more confident every second. She and Bonnie sit with their eyes closed; heads thrown back, faces radiating with a power the rest of them could never begin to understand.

A sudden breeze sweeps through the trees, sending an icy chill in their direction. Perhaps it is because of her doppelganger blood, but Elena knows it to be otherworldly; it shoots goose bumps down her arm, rocketing her every sense onto high alert. Bonnie and Willow suddenly tense as well, their posture suddenly ramrod straight. The flames spark again, shooting far above their heads.

An ear splitting crack echoes through the night; Bonnie's eyes fly open, her dark orbs hazy and unfocused, her mouth forming a perfect 'o' of surprise. Just to the left of Xander, a figure begins to emerge, blurred at first but growing more distinct every second.

Elena leans closer trying to get a good look at the figure that begins to look more and more like a slight woman in a long dress. The rest of the group lean in, equally befuddled; Willow said Anya wouldn't have a physical foothold, that they'd only be able to speak to her, but there's no denying the presence in front of them.

When she is finally distinct, the woman in the circle stares back at them in bewilderment for a moment. But when her eyes fall on the man on the ground next to her, she drops immediately to her knees, her attention fully fixated on him. Xander scrambles to prop himself up on his elbows, his face caught in an expression between sheer astonishment and overwhelming joy.

"Xander?" The woman chokes out, kneeling down next to him. Her waist length, wavy, dark hair tumbles over her shoulders as she kneels next to him. Her eyes are filled with deep concern, a strange face for a former vengeance demon. Her dress, long and lacing up in the front like something from a medieval fair, is clearly one she wore in her past.

Xander opens and closes his mouth a few times, unable to form words. He brings his hand up to touch her cheek but his fingers pass through her, as if she's nothing more than a beam of light.

"Well that went differently that I thought it would," Willow pronounces, a proud smile playing at her lips. "Better though."

Giles leans closer adjusting his spectacles as he inspects the scene before him with a concerned frown. "Willow, you said we wouldn't be able to see her."

Anya tears her gaze away from Xander fixes Giles with a scowl. "Yeah, well you look old. How long have I been dead?"

"Um...awhile," Xander answers her dazedly, bringing himself to sit upright, still gazing at her with reverence. Anya tries to run her hands through his hair, but it doesn't so much as stir a single follicle.

"I'm going to assume the salt means I'm still dead, huh?" Her voice is sweet but clipped; a charming inflection that rises and falls like someone from a classic film. Elena can picture her having tea with Ingrid Bergman.

Buffy smiles grimly. "We called you because we have some...questions."

Anya glances around, her arms loosely wrapped around Xander even though she isn't technically touching him. "Elijah," she gives him a wide smile, seemingly unsurprised by his presence. "I haven't seen you in...it's been over a century, hasn't it?"

"I believe so, yes." Elijah gives her a small bow in return. "A pleasure as always."

Anya's eyebrows rise as she notices Damon however. "Damon," she spits evenly with narrowed eyes.

"Anyanka." He winks rakishly, obviously amused by her animosity. "Miss me?"

She snorts. "Like a broad sword to the gut."

Her eyes pass over Faith and Caroline, but she cocks her head though as they fall on Elena.

"You're not Kat," she states after a second. "Which means you're—"

"—the doppelganger," Elena finishes for her, surprised by her quick revelation. She is so used to people not noticing at all, much less noticing in mere seconds. "Damon said you were clever," she adds, her lips turning up into a small smile.

Anya's eyes glint annoyance. "Well I'm surprised Mr. I-Only-Think-With-My-Fangs can tell the difference himself to be honest."

Damon rolls his eyes, his ever present smirk playing at his lips. "Oh c'mon Annie. I don't _only_ think with my fangs."

Anya stands, brushing the non-existent dirt off her dress. "You're right. You also think with your—"

"You know this isn't terribly productive—" Buffy attempts to cut in, her eyes flicking from Anya to Damon as if she isn't sure if she should stop them or sit back and enjoy the show. Elena leans back on her heels, more in favour of letting them carry on with their light banter than not.

Damon ignores Buffy's interruption. "By the way, thanks for the heads up about your BFF not being in the tomb. That must have been one hell of a friendship bracelet."

Anya crosses her arms, her mouth forming an angry pout. "What, because I didn't spill my guts? You're not _that_ good in bed Damon. You know, if you'd spent less time getting laid and coming up with stupid elaborate plans to rob the Gardner Museum, you might have figured it out on your own."

"Says the person who _helped_ me!"

"Ha!" Caroline laughs accusingly. "I _knew_ that Manet in your bedroom was stolen!"

Damon reels around on Caroline, pointing an accusatory finger. "_You_ are not supposed to be in my bedroom Blondie."

"Enough." Buffy shoots all three of them a scathing look. "Anya, we need your help."

"Yeah, I figured you didn't call me back just to make me listen to him going on about Katherine. Like a century of that wasn't enough suffering."

Damon opens his mouth to interrupt but Buffy holds up a hand, cutting him off.

"What's going on?" Anya continues. "You haven't got me here for long; something is trying to pull me back."

"Niklaus broke the hybrid curse," Elijah calmly explains. "We're trying to kill him without destroying his whole bloodline."

"Why? Why not just take out the whole bloodline?" She looks at Buffy and Faith, her expression conveying mild irritation. "Are you or are you not vampire slayers?" she throws out bluntly.

Buffy glances at Faith and then back to Anya. "They have souls," Buffy insists, firmly. "I won't commit genocide without...exploring other options."

"Anyanka, do you know of a way to do this?" Elijah cuts in. "We were friends of sorts once. You and Niklaus were involved for centuries. If he told you something..."

Anya sighs heavily. "Every spell that has been bound can be unbound. There has to be a balance."

"I know _that_," Willow snaps, frustrated. "I'm just not sure what will happen if I do."

"Nik once told me in a drunken fit that the doppelganger is both his undoing and his salvation," Anya pronounces mechanically. "She's the key to everything."

"Yeah we've figured that out thanks," Damon mutters sarcastically.

Anya throws him a glare and turns her attention back to Willow. "I'm not sure how, but you should be able to unbind it the same way it was bound: culminating with blood sacrificed by the doppelganger. It won't kill him, but it will make him mortal again."

Elena processes this news with disappointment rather than shock and horror. She knows that even if she wanted to, Bonnie and Willow would never even consider a sacrifice.

Damon however, does not take this news nearly as well. Instinctively, he takes a protective step in front of Elena, blocking her view of the circle. "Well that's absolutely not happening," he spits at Anya.

Elena merely steps around him, laying a gentle hand on his arm, afraid he will launch himself into the circle and destroy the spell.

Willow meets Damon's eyes reassuringly. "I'm not doing a human sacrifice," she voices. "No way."

Anya rolls her eyes, flipping a strand of hair over her shoulder with annoyance. "I didn't say she had to die. Geez. She just needs to spill a little bit of blood." Elena lets go of Damon's arm when she feels him relax slightly. "The problem is I'm pretty sure that it will—" Anya cuts off, her face contorting in pain.

Bonnie bites her lip, a bead of sweat trickling down her face. Elena can tell it is taking much more out of her to maintain her share of the connection than it is Willow. "Something on the other side is tugging," Bonnie says through gritted teeth. She grimaces. "It's Esther; I recognize her power."

The flames flicker once and Anya begins to fade again.

"Now she's yanking," Bonnie clarifies hastily, her eyes filling with pain.

"Anya?" Xander tries to clutch at her, but—of course—comes up with fistfuls of empty air. Willow begins to chant under her breath, trying to maintain the connection.

"It will tether her life force to Nik's," Anya gasps, blurting her words quickly, knowing she is running out of time. "The Originals turned with wine laced with the blood of the first doppelganger; they're somehow connected to her as long as she's human. All three bloodlines."

"Wait—what three blood lines? Anya?" Willow prompts her.

Anya shakes her head, unable to speak, then looks down to Xander, anguished. Her hand comes up to touch his face. "I love you Xander," she barely manages to utter before she gives another gasp.

Xander shakes his head, silent tears running down his face. "I should have married the crap out of you. I'm so sorry, Anya."

Elena catches a last glimpse of Anya's wistful smile before the candles suddenly sputter out with a pop, plunging them all into darkness.

They stand there for a moment, then a flashlight clicks on, illuminating Giles' face. The smell of the candle smoke lingers in Elena's nose, like a birthday wish just extinguished.

"Is everyone alright?" he asks, shining the light into the hazy circle.

"We're okay," Bonnie answers.

Xander sits on the ground, his knees drawn up to his chest, staring at the spot Anya just disappeared from. "She's gone," he whispers.

Willow rubs his shoulder softly.

"I'm so sorry, Xander."

He shrugs her arm off, standing up quickly. "I'm just going to..."

Willow gives him a sad nod and he steps out of the circle, making his way up the hill.

A sob rings out, echoing over the hills. Elena stiffens uncomfortably, thinking it is Xander, but draws back in surprise when she realizes it's Caroline.

Elijah, the closest person to her, takes her elbow immediately. "Caroline, are you hurt?" he appraises.

Elena moves towards her friend, her eyes wrought with confusion.

Caroline shakes her head, tears streaming down her face. "I can't remember..." she cries out through her tears. "I want to remember...I miss him."

Realization dawns on Elena's face.

"Can't you over-ride Kol's compulsion?" Damon's voice quavers with concern he doesn't typically reveal, at least not over Caroline.

Elijah shakes his head. He's clearly uncomfortable with crying women but he awkwardly pats Caroline's hair anyways. "I've already tried. You know how difficult compulsion is to mess with. I think what just happened triggered something."

"Care?" Elena gently rubs her friend's arm. "Let's get you home, okay?"

Caroline nods, letting Elena pull her away from Elijah who releases her gratefully.

Bonnie glances from Willow to Caroline. "Um...is it alright if I..."

"Of course. Just come find me tomorrow."

_I'll see you soon._ Elena mouths to Damon as Bonnie takes Caroline's other arm and the three girls set off towards the hill

Damon gives her a concerned nod, turning his attention to Elijah and Willow.

Caroline cries silently all the way back to the guest house she shares with Bonnie. The two girls help their friend into her pyjamas, sitting down on the end of her bed.

"I'm sorry I'm such a mess." Caroline blows her nose. "I just..."

"Hey, it's alright," Bonnie soothes. "I can't even imagine what you're going through right now. Kol made you forget huge chunks of your life. You're entitled to a few tears."

Elena plucks Caroline's hair brush from the assortment of products scattered across the top of her dresser and gestures for her to turn around. Softly she runs the comb through her friend's golden locks; she can't remember a time Caroline hasn't loved having someone play with her hair.

"When Xander said goodbye to Anya, it was like I had this flash…this ache of missing something I don't remember having," Caroline explains quietly, tilting her head back to give Elena more room to brush.

Elena bites her lip, remembering the same feeling, like she lost something incredibly important that was hiding just out of reach. As Bonnie and Caroline continue to talk though, the image of Damon telling her he loved remains in her head. She can't imagine the agony of losing that moment again. Or any of them really; it isn't as if they have very many moments to spare, good or bad.

"Are you alright, Elena?" Bonnie blinks at her with concern. "You seem a little out of it."

Elena blinks, shaking her thoughts away. "I'm fine. I'm not the one who just had a battle of wills with the Original Bitch. Are you okay? You look a little pale."

"It took a lot of out me, but I'm just a little tired." Bonnie's lips quirk into a small smile. "The Original Bitch? I think Damon's rubbing off on you."

"He's rubbing off something, that's for sure," Caroline murmurs under her breath.

Elena rolls her eyes, poking her in the ribs with the end of her hairbrush. She's glad to see her friend smiling though, even if it is at her expense. "Any idea why Esther was trying to stop you?" She attempts to satisfy her curiosity and change the subject in one fell swoop. "Doesn't she want Klaus gone?"

"Esther wants to bring about the end of all the vampires she created." Bonnie swallows nervously. "She probably wanted to stop Anya from giving us information that might help us get around that."

"I wonder what Anya meant about the three bloodlines," Elena speculates, idly beginning to braid Caroline's hair.

"She probably just meant you were connected to the Originals," Caroline suggests. "I mean it makes sense."

Bonnie shakes her head. "At first I thought she meant the Originals too, but with Finn dead there are still four Original blood lines, not three. And that's if Anya even knew Finn died. I think she meant something else entirely." She shrugs. "I'm sure Elijah and Willow have an idea; we'll figure it out. Without Elena sacrificing herself that is." She gives Elena a knowing look.

Caroline sighs. "How come none of our problems ever equal 'kill Katherine' anymore? Why is it always 'sacrifice Elena's blood'? I miss the 'kill Katherine' days; they were so simple."

Elena laughs, nudging the hair tie off the end of the brush and onto Caroline's hair. "You and me both."

* * *

When Elena finally returns to her own guest house, it is well after eleven. She's surprised to find Damon in the kitchen tilting a cutting board with pieces of chicken on it into something steaming on the stove. It smells incredible.

"Have you eaten?" he asks quietly, setting down the cutting board. "I didn't get dinner and I didn't think you did either, so I thought—"

He cuts off as she abruptly wraps her arms around him and pulls him into a searing kiss. Damon sets down the serving spoon still clutched in his hand and encircles her waist.

"If I knew making soup was going to garner that kind of reaction, I would have tried this a _loooong_ time ago," he jokes when she finally pulls away.

Elena steps back slightly, tugging her sweater down from where it rode up in the heat of the moment.

"I don't want to forget," she states.

"What?"

"After spending the day with Caroline...watching her not even be able to remember the simplest things about Tyler. I don't want to have her compel me; I couldn't put her through that. And..." she hesitates. "Well, that fight sucked, but it was still us, you know? I don't like the idea of losing memories, even the screaming matches."

"Okay," he says simply. He lifts the lid off the pot on the stove to inspect his concoction. Replacing the lid, he turns to face her again, leaning against the side of the counter.

"That's it, just 'okay'?"

"It's risky that you know, but after what happened to Caroline today I think it might be riskier to have someone punching holes in your brain when they don't even know what they're compelling you to forget." He tugs on her bracelet lightly. "Just be careful and wear your vervain."

She grasps both his hands in hers, rubbing her thumb over his palm. "You know, we should probably talk about the—"

"Nope," Damon cuts her off.

"No?"

Damon spins her around, resting his chin her shoulder while he stirs the pot on the stove. "We're under too much pressure as it is. That's ultimately why we were fighting this morning, isn't it?"

"I guess so."

"So let's just shelve that inevitable Sid and Nancy moment until we talk to Elijah and Willow tomorrow and we know more. Okay?"

Elena leans against him, tilting her head to look up at him. "Didn't Sid shoot up a bunch of heroin and stab Nancy to death?"

"Well, yeah...but he loved her."

Elena elbows him playfully. "How comforting. I'll make sure to remember that when you try to stab me."

He nips lightly at her neck, releasing her from his embrace. "Since I can't be trusted with the knives," he breathes in her ear, "Want to make a salad?"

"I don't know," she teases. "Can I trust you not to drug the soup?"

"Scouts honour."

She pecks his cheek once and steps around him to make the salad from the selection of vegetables on the counter.

"I read that journal you stole today while you were with Caroline," Damon comments dryly as he throws something else in the soup. He hops up so he is sitting on the edge of the counter.

"I didn't steal it." Elena clarifies, swatting his hand as he swipes a pepper from her carefully chopped pile. "I borrowed it. And I haven't really read it yet."

"You didn't? Why not?" He holds her gaze while he pops the pepper into his mouth.

"I wanted to ask you first."

Damon swallows, earning himself another swat as he tries to go for a carrot. "You can read whatever you like; you don't have to ask my permission."

Elena hands him a head of lettuce, trying to distract him from snatching pieces of food. He rolls his eyes but immediately begins to shred it. "I know," she states. "I just didn't want to violate your privacy. I mean, from what I skimmed, they pretty much detailed your entire human existence."

"You didn't ask Stefan for permission when you read all his journals," he points out.

Elena tilts her vegetables into the salad bowl. "Well you're ripping lettuce," she quips, "When you escalate to ripping people's heads off, you lose your right to privacy."

Damon sets the lettuce down on the counter and reaches over to grasp her chin, forcing her to meet his eyes. "You know you can ask me anything right? I'll tell you anything you want."

Elena raises her eyebrows dubiously. "Really? When's your birthday, Damon?" she teases.

Damon winces. "I was going to tell you that. I was just waiting until it was too late for you to throw me a party."

Elena pokes him in the stomach with the end of the salad tongs. "Well, it was a valiant effort, but you're still getting a party next December 7th. On the day. And you're going to at least pretend to enjoy it."

Damon rolls his eyes. "Just don't let Caroline do the planning. I'm not going to some WWII themed 'day that will live in infamy' birthday party."

Elena snorts, holding the bowl out for him to drop the lettuce in. "I think that level of dark humour is more up your alley than Caroline's."

* * *

"Good morning." Buffy gives her an appraising once over as Elena enters the weight room the following morning.

"Morning," Elena replies, stifling her yawn.

She takes in the gym with bleary eyes. This particular gym has a series of interconnected weight rooms, but the room they are currently in is composed of mirrors and weight machines. Beyond it, she can see the mirrored studio for stretching and yoga, and another room with mats and punching bags, exclusively for hand to hand combat practice. She's surprised to see them deserted, but then, it is fairly early in the morning.

"Why don't you sit and we'll talk a bit before we start?" Buffy gestures to one of the weight benches and Elena perches herself on the edge. "Let me be clear," Buffy continues. "I don't want to put either you or Damon in a position where you have to fight. But I also need to be realistic because there's a good chance you might have to."

"I know you've done some training before, but if you're going to survive, you need to learn more," Buffy explains. "I'm going to push you very hard. I need you to stay healthy alright? Don't skip meals." She gives Elena a knowing smile. "And get plenty of rest. Maybe don't let your boyfriend keep you up all night, anymore?"

Elena blushes, busying herself by pulling her hair back into a ponytail. "Where do we start?" she attempts to change the subject.

"I saw you break Robin's nose, but I'd like to see what else you can do." Elena feels at stab of guilt; no one told her his nose was broken. When she thinks of Damon on the cold, unforgiving ground taking his last breaths however, the guilt subsides.

"I can do some basic hand to hand combat," Elena answers, "And Faith showed me a few things yesterday. Other than that...I can use a stake rigged wrist guard."

Buffy tosses her a flat stake which she just barely manages to catch. "Ever staked a vampire before?"

Elena turns the stake over in her hands. "Sort of. I've daggered both Elijah and his sister before, but both times it was premeditated." She thinks for a moment. "And I gut staked Damon's brother once. I think that's about it. There's other stuff, but since I _was_ a vampire at the time I don't know if it counts."

"Hey, it's more than most girls. I've had Slayers arrive here with less experience than that. I'd like to start with the hand to hand stuff; that's really the most important."

Buffy leads her to the next room with the punching bags and watches as Elena begins the routine she used to work through with Alaric. Buffy nods approvingly as she watches, stopping to correct Elena's posture or her angles. After a few minutes, she stops her.

"You're not bad, but you're going to need to do some weight lifting. Build up your strength."

"I know...I'm not very strong. I was doing some weights last fall, but..." Elena trails off, thinking about all the other things that got in the way, including the death of her beloved mentor. "It kind of fell by the wayside," she finally offers. She smiles slightly, thinking of how much Alaric would like this place. "Can I try one of the crossbows?" she pipes up, reminded of his particular love for them.

Buffy shakes her head. "Later, for sure. But Elena, you should never mistake weapons for power. Crossbows, axes, maces, those things are nice. Don't get me wrong; I'm a fan. But those things can be taken away from you in an instant. The only real power you have is yourself." She gestures back to the punching bag. "Let's go through it again. Watch your elbows."

Elena acquiesces and they spend the next few hours working with the punching bag, until Buffy is satisfied with her form.

"Alright," Buffy sighs, reaching her arms above her head to stretch. "We're gonna have to call it for the day. I have other stuff I need to do before we meet this afternoon. God, I can't believe it's April 5th already."

Elena blanches. "It's April 5th?" she chokes. She isn't sure how Jeremy's eighteenth birthday snuck up on her so quickly, but she can't fight off the sudden image that bombards her of her little brother at age five, dressed in a Ninja Turtle costume with cake all over his face. He'd stared at her with those big brown eyes so filled with adoration, babbling with sheer joy in trying to explain the Buzz Lightyear toy clutched in his hands.

"Yeah why?" Buffy replies, confused by her expression.

Elena takes a deep breath, composing herself. "No reason." She tries to give Buffy a weak smile. "I'll see you tomorrow."

She barely makes it out of the gym before the tears start running down her face. She knows she'll never make it all the way back to the guest house without losing it, and, unwilling to face anyone with her grief, she ducks into the nearest broom cupboard.

She sinks to the ground in the corner, pulling her knees up to her chest and letting herself, for the first time in weeks, to really truly cry.

She thinks for a moment of the birthday Jeremy would be having right now if all was right in the world. She'd have tried to make the carrot cake their mother always made and even if it was awful, Jeremy would eat every bite, teasing her all the while. Caroline would probably insist on some ridiculous party filled with people they barely knew but it wouldn't matter because at least the people she cared for would be together, safe and happy.

Instead she sits here, on the floor of a broom closet and her brother is...the best she can hope for is that he's alive. At this point, she would be grateful if Klaus hasn't tortured him beyond the point of sanity.

How did their lives come to this? How could her mere existence have fucked everything up so colossally?

She stays there for what feels like hours, sobbing out her frustrations. Finally though, she runs out of tears. As she there in the dark, trying to bring herself to get up off the floor and leave the closet, the door cracks open. Elena looks up to see Buffy's face illuminated in the light coming from the hall. She doesn't say anything, merely hands her a roll of toilet paper and sits herself down on an overturned mop bucket, pulling the door shut behind her.

Elena takes the toilet paper gratefully, wiping her face and nose. They sit there quietly in the dark for a few minutes before Buffy speaks.

"Sometimes you need to cry alone, but you shouldn't have to face the after by yourself."

"I'm sorry." Elena isn't sure what she's apologizing for, but she feels she needs to offer some kind of explanation. "Today's my brother's birthday. It just...hit me kind of hard. He's...he's the only family I have left."

"Hey, we all have to cry sometimes. I know how you feel. I have a younger sister...similar situation."

Elena is surprised by this information because, in the brief time she's known her, she's pictured Buffy as an only child. "Does she live here? I haven't met her."

Elena hears a slight rustling as Buffy shakes her head. "No. She lives in Toronto. She's trying the whole normal life thing. I see her a few times a year, but...we live in kind of different worlds." There's a squeak as she leans back on the bucket. "It's hard but...I'm glad for her. She's safer that way."

Elena sighs with envy. "God, I wish. For a long time, even though it was too late for me, I thought Jeremy maybe would be spared all the supernatural drama. But even if I wasn't the doppelganger, he's still been sucked in just as badly as the rest of us with this whole The Five thing." She sniffs, wiping her nose with a piece of the scratchy toilet paper. "You know about them right?"

"I know they exist," Buffy replies. "I've never met any of them though. I didn't know your brother was one. They're kinda rare."

"It's been pretty recent," Elena explains. "They only activated him because they were trying to find the stupid cure for me—" She throws down the piece of paper she was blowing her nose on with as much force as one can possibly fling a piece of tissue. "—to save me."

"You can't blame yourself for this, Elena," Buffy says firmly. "It's not your fault that a thousand years ago a witch took revenge to a whole new level with her magic. What you can do is fight it."

Elena fingers a loose thread on the end of her shirt. "Yeah...you'd think this doppelganger curse could have at least come with some Slayer strength though."

Buffy lets out a half laugh. "That would've come in handy huh? Slayer or not, though, this is _your_ battle. And if you're going to survive it, you're going to have to stop blaming yourself and start fighting it. Because if you give up, even for a second, you're dead."

Elena thinks about that for a minute, not saying anything. Despite her hatred of this situation, of watching everyone die, she definitely doesn't want to die either.

"Go home, Elena," Buffy urges. "Get some rest, work out your concerns about your brother, I'll see you at the meeting this afternoon and we'll train again tomorrow morning. Alright?" Buffy cracks open the door, letting the light seep in.

Elena nods in agreement, accepting the hand up Buffy offers. "Thank you for sitting with me. It was really nice of you."

Buffy gives her a half smile. "Hang on to that. You'll hate me tomorrow when we really start to work."

* * *

A/N: I'm so sorry for the slow updates everyone, I'm writing my Master's thesis right now and that sucks away a lot of time. I'll try to have Chapter Fourteen ready for you as soon as I can. Thank you all for your reviews/follows/favorites, I really love hearing what you all think. Special thank you to Skye my amazing beta.


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